as ‧ sure S2 W3 AC /əˈʃʊə $ əˈʃʊr/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ assure ; noun : ↑ assurance ]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: assurer , from Medieval Latin assecurare , from Latin ad- 'to' + securus 'safe' ]
1 . to tell someone that something will definitely happen or is definitely true so that they are less worried SYN reassure
assure somebody that
Her doctor has assured us that she’ll be fine.
The document is genuine, I can assure you.
assure somebody of something
The dealer had assured me of its quality.
⇨ rest assured at ↑ rest 2 (5)
2 . to make something certain to happen or to be achieved SYN ensure :
Excellent reviews have assured the film’s success.
assure somebody (of) something
A win on Saturday will assure them of promotion to Division One.
3 . assure yourself formal to check that something is correct or true
assure yourself that
Tim waited a moment to assure himself that he was not being followed.
assure yourself of
I took steps to assure myself of her guilt.
4 . the sum assured formal the amount of insurance money to be paid out when someone dies
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ promise to tell someone that you will definitely do something, or that something will happen:
He promised to give the book back.
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The organisers have promised that this year’s event will take place.
▪ swear to make a very serious and sincere promise, for example in a law court:
He had sworn to tell the truth.
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I would never do that, I swear.
▪ give somebody your word especially spoken to promise sincerely that you will do something or that something is true – often used when you are trying to persuade someone that they can trust you:
I give you my word that your money is safe with me.
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I’ll let you go out tonight if you give me your word that you’ll be home by 11.
▪ vow to make a very serious promise, often to yourself:
She vowed that she would never drink alcohol again.
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They vowed to carry on their campaign for justice.
▪ assure to promise someone that something will happen or that something is true, in order to try to make them feel less worried:
Police have assured the public that they are doing everything they can to find the killer.
▪ guarantee to promise that you will make sure that something will definitely happen, so that there is no question of it not happening:
I guarantee that you will have the documents by tomorrow.
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How can you guarantee that this won’t happen again?
▪ pledge to promise publicly or officially that you will do something, for example to give help or money:
The government has pledged to increase overseas aid to $4 billion over the next five years.
▪ undertake formal to make an official or legal promise to do something:
The government undertook to keep price increases to a minimum.
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The two sides undertook to respect each other’s territory.
▪ commit to something formal to make a firm and definite promise to do something important, which will affect you for a long time and which could result in serious effects if you fail:
Bobby felt unready to commit to a romantic relationship.
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A group of 11 companies has committed to developing a new passenger plane.