ascertain

CEFRC1

/ˌæsəˈteɪn/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To find out something with certainty.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    To look for something lost.

Examples

  • As I heard the story secondhand, I can't ascertain the truth of it.

  • We will first ascertain the cause of the disaster.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˌæsəˈtæɪn/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To make (someone) certain or confident about something; to inform.

  2. To find out definitely; to discover or establish.

  3. To establish, to prove.

More examples

In context

  • As soon as we ascertain what the situation is, we can plan how to proceed.

  • Walk the dog in the pounding rain / Looking for a way out of my brain, trapped in it / But I cannot ascertain that I'm trapped in it / Or that the traps even real so I remain trapped in this chambers

  • We would most gladly ye came yourself if that ye may […] praying you to ascertain us of your News.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The detective tried to blank the exact cause of the fire by examining the evidence.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English acerteynen, from Old French acertener, from a- (“to, towards”) + certener (“make sure of”), from the adjective certain, from Latin certus (“certain, fixed”). Compare to Spanish acertar.