I. sure 1 S1 W1 /ʃɔː $ ʃʊr/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: sur , from Latin securus ; ⇨ ↑ secure 1 ]
1 . CERTAIN YOU KNOW SOMETHING [not before noun] confident that you know something or that something is true or correct SYN certain :
‘That’s Sarah’s cousin.’ ‘Are you sure?’
‘What time does the show start?’ ‘I’m not sure.’
sure (that)
I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for all this.
Are you sure that you know how to get there?
My mother, I felt sure, had not met him before.
not sure how/where/when etc
Henry wasn’t sure how to answer this.
not sure if/whether
I’m not sure if I’m pronouncing this correctly.
sure of
He wasn’t even sure of his mother’s name.
They were talking about her, she was sure of that.
sure about
‘That’s the man I saw in the building last night.’ ‘Are you quite sure (=completely sure) about that?’
REGISTER
In writing, people often prefer to use certain rather than sure , because it sounds more formal:
▪
We cannot be certain what causes this phenomenon.
2 . make sure
a) to find out if something is true or to check that something has been done:
‘Did you lock the front door?’ ‘I think so, but I’d better make sure.’
make sure (that)
I wanted to make sure you were all right.
First, make sure the printer has enough paper in it.
b) to do something so that you can be certain of the result
make sure (that)
I’ll walk you home, just to make sure no one bothers you.
make sure of (doing) something
Spain made sure of their place by holding Japan to a 1–1 draw.
Thomas would be sorry – she would make sure of that.
3 . CERTAIN ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS [not before noun] certain about what you feel, want, like etc
sure (that)
Are you sure you really want a divorce?
sure of
Carla says she is very sure of her love for Tony.
4 . CERTAIN TO BE TRUE certain to be true
one thing is (for) sure
One thing’s for sure, we’ll never be able to move this furniture on our own.
sure sign/indication
Those black clouds are a sure sign of rain.
5 . CERTAIN TO HAPPEN/SUCCEED certain to happen, succeed, or have a particular result
sure to do something
He’s sure to get nervous and say something stupid.
sure way to do something/of doing something
There was only one sure way of finding out – and that was to visit him.
sure thing/bet American English (=something that will definitely happen, win, succeed etc)
6 . be sure of (doing) something to be certain to get something or be certain that something will happen:
United must beat Liverpool to be sure of winning the championship.
You can be sure of one thing – there’ll be a lot of laughs.
7 . sure of yourself confident in your own abilities and opinions, sometimes in a way that annoys other people:
Kids nowadays seem very sure of themselves.
8 . be sure to do something spoken used to tell someone to remember to do something:
Be sure to ring and let us know you’ve got back safely.
9 . for sure
a) informal certainly or definitely:
No one knows for sure what really happened.
b) spoken used to emphasize that something is true:
We’ll always need teachers, that’s for sure.
c) American English informal spoken used to agree with someone
10 . sure thing spoken informal used to agree to something:
‘Can you pick me up later?’ ‘Sure thing.’
11 . to be sure spoken formal used to admit that something is true, before saying something that is the opposite:
It was difficult, to be sure, but somehow we managed to finish the job.
12 . (as) sure as hell spoken informal used to emphasize a statement:
If I could get you out of there, I sure as hell would.
13 . have a sure hold/footing if you have a sure hold or footing, your hands or feet are placed firmly so they cannot slip
—sureness noun [uncountable]
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ quite sure
Are you quite sure she won’t mind?
▪ pretty sure
I’m pretty sure it was the same woman who called the office last week.
▪ absolutely sure
Don’t throw anything away until you are absolutely sure you won’t need it again.
▪ not quite/entirely sure
‘What are they?’ ‘I’m not entirely sure.’
▪ not exactly sure
I’m not exactly sure when the funeral is.
▪ not very/too sure
Make a list of any words or phrases whose meaning you are not too sure about.
▪ not at all sure
By now, we were not at all sure where we were.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ sure adjective believing that something is definitely true or correct:
I’m sure that you’re right.
|
‘The car was a BMW’ ‘Are you sure?’
|
I’m not sure what the best thing to do is.
▪ certain adjective completely sure. Certain is more formal than sure , and it is very commonly used in writing:
The police were certain that they had found the killer.
|
I think he’s married, but I’m not certain about it.
▪ convinced adjective sure that something is true, even though you cannot prove it:
She became convinced that her boyfriend was seeing someone else.
|
Brown’s wife was convinced of his innocence.
▪ positive adjective especially spoken completely sure that something is true, especially when other people are not sure:
She said she was positive that the exam was next Tuesday.
|
I’m absolutely positive I haven’t made a mistake.
▪ satisfied adjective sure that you know the truth about something that has happened, because you have enough information:
The authorities are now satisfied that her death was an accident.
▪ confident adjective sure that something good will happen or that you will achieve something:
Doctors are confident that he’ll make a full recovery.
|
A spokesman said the government was confident of winning the vote.
▪ have no doubt ( also be in no doubt ) verb phrase to have no doubts in your mind about something:
I have no doubt that his story is true.
|
He was in no doubt about what he should do next.
▪ know verb to have a strong feeling that something is true or correct:
I just know that she will love this necklace.
|
When the phone rang, we knew something terrible must have happened.
II. sure 2 S3 BrE AmE adverb
1 . sure enough used to say that something did actually happen in the way that you said it would:
Sure enough, Mike managed to get lost.
2 . YES spoken used to say ‘yes’ to someone:
‘Can you give me a ride to work tomorrow?’ ‘Sure.’
3 . ACCEPT THANKS American English spoken used as a reply when you accept thanks from someone:
‘Thanks for your help, Karen.’ ‘Sure.’
4 . EMPHASIZE American English informal used to emphasize a statement:
It sure is hot out here.
I sure hope they get there all right.
5 . BEFORE STATEMENT spoken used at the beginning of a statement admitting that something is true, especially before adding something very different:
Sure Joey’s happy now, but will it last?