surety

CEFRC1

/ˈʃɔːɹɪti/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A person or thing that guarantees a result or debt.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A promise to pay a sum of money in the event that another person fails to fulfill an obligation.

Examples

  • Loan on deeds needed the joint surety.

  • For the more surety they looked round about.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. That which makes sure; that which confirms; ground of confidence or security.

  2. One who undertakes to pay money or perform other acts in the event that his principal fails therein.

  3. A substitute; a hostage.

More examples

In context

  • Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs.

  • [We] our happy state Hold, as you yours, while our obedience holds; On other surety none.

  • He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

He gave a personal blank to guarantee the loan.

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

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English surete, attested since the early 1300s in the sense "guarantee, promise, pledge, assurance", from Anglo-Norman seurté/Old French seurté with the same meaning (whence modern French sûreté), from Latin sēcūritās. Equivalent to sure + -ty. The senses "security, safety, stability" and "certainty" are attested since the late 1300s. "One who undertakes to pay if another does not" is from the early 1400s. Doublet of security.