əˈsərt, -ə̄t, -əit also aˈ-; usu -d.+V transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin assertus, adsertus, past participle of asserere, adserere to assert, lay claim to, liberate, from ad- + serere to join — more at series
1. : to state or affirm positively, assuredly, plainly, or strongly
I am far from asserting it was the actual way — Havelock Ellis
2.
a. : to demonstrate the existence of (an attribute) : signify
assert his manhood — James Joyce
b. : to demand and compel recognition of
he was never able to assert himself sufficiently
c. : to postulate or to affirm the existence of
by again asserting God as an active force in history — Time
3. archaic
a. : to lay claim to as a possession or attribute
b. : to take a stand with or for : champion , defend
I will assert it from the scandal — Jeremy Taylor
Synonyms:
declare , profess , affirm , aver , protest , avouch , avow , predicate , warrant : assert puts stress on the fact of positive statement; it may imply noteworthy assuredness or force on the speaker's part or lack of proof for the statement
we dissect and study and describe a language in modern times on the basis of a structural analysis, and then assert what its usage is — Joshua Whatmough
as early as 1808 Jefferson's cabinet asserted that the United States had a common interest with the revolutionists in excluding European influence — A.P.Whitaker
hill-dwellers, whose language, it is asserted, resembles Elizabethan English — American Guide Series: Arkansas
declare is sometimes used in reference to explicit, open, public statement, perhaps formal
almost without exception, the New Jersey press daily declares its independence from its metropolitan rivals — American Guide Series: New Jersey
the law in many states declared mixed marriages illegal — Oscar Handlin
profess may refer to open declaration, perhaps repeated, especially of one's own inclinations or capacities, sometimes hypocritical
if judicial critics do not learn modesty from the past they profess to esteem, it is not from lack of material — John Dewey
an orthodox Communist leader who professed to speak for the submerged masses — Allan Murray
enjoyment in occasionally professing opinions which in fact are not your own — Jane Austen
affirm may suggest delivery of a statement with an earnest appearance of truth and conviction, sometimes a factitious appearance
affirmed that he took no part in this black deed — W.H.Hudson †1922
it will be affirmed that much learning deadens or perverts poetic sensibility — T.S.Eliot
politicians more often affirm their desire for retirement than show that they really mean it — Times Literary Supplement
aver may suggest confidence and genuine belief in the truth of a statement that might be questioned
Sedgwick averred that he had wasted two years' work through adhering to Werner's notions — S.F.Mason
averring that leniency would be a mistake in the case of the confirmed young criminal — Current Biography
protest may indicate forceful declaration in the face of doubt or contradiction
Streicher protesting he'd never hurt a soul — Current Biography
we tend to suspect that a man who protests that his aim is the production of beauty and goodness is something of a charlatan — T.D.Weldon
avouch , less used than others in this group, may apply to statements substantiated by certain personal knowledge or by irrefutable authority
as anyone who is familiar with Communist tactics can avouch — W.R.Kintner
avow stresses open, frank declaration, with full personal acknowledgment and responsibility
communists, fascists, and other avowed enemies of parliamentarism — F.Ogg & H.Zink
“as to the great service,” said Carton, “I am bound to avow to you, when you speak of it in that way, that it was mere professional claptrap” — Charles Dickens
predicate in this sense may indicate an affirming of something as a quality, attribute, or concomitant
to predicate of diabolic agencies, which are gifted with angelic intellects, the highly ridiculous activities which are so characteristic of poltergeist visitations — J.McCarthy
logic works by predicating of the single instance what is true of all its kind — William James
warrant may apply to assured statement made without brooking contradiction, with or as if with one's personal guarantee
I'll warrant he's as good a gentleman as any — John Buchan
Synonym: see in addition maintain .