Surety Meaning
/ˈʃɔːɹɪti/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounCertainty.
nounThat which makes sure; that which confirms; ground of confidence or security.
Sentence Examples
Loan on deeds needed the joint surety.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He gave a personal ____ to guarantee the loan.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He provided a ____ to the bank to guarantee that the loan would be repaid in full within the next year today.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 15:13:
"For the more surety they looked round about."
— a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC:
"[We] our happy state
Hold, as you yours, while our obedience holds;
On other surety none."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"There remains unpaid
A hundred thousand more; in surety of the which
One part of Aquitaine is bound to us."
— c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
"He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 11:15:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He gave a personal ____ to guarantee the loan.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He provided a ____ to the bank to guarantee that the loan would be repaid in full within the next year today.