aver

American  

[uh-vur] / əˈvɜr /

verb (used with object)

• avers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• averred,
  past participle,  past
• averring
  present participle

1. 

   to assert or affirm with confidence; declare in a positive or peremptory manner.

2. Law. to allege as a fact.

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aver British  

/ əˈvɜː /

verb

1. to state positively; assert

2. law to allege as a fact or prove to be true

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Synonym Usage

See maintain.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• averment
  noun
• misaver
  verb (used with object)
• preaver
  verb (used with object)
• unaverred
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• averring
  present
• averred
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• aver
  simple
• avers
  simple
• have averred
  perfect
• has averred
  perfect
• am averring
  progressive
• are averring
  progressive
• is averring
  progressive
• have been averring
  perfect progressive
• has been averring
  perfect progressive

Past

• averred
  simple
• had averred
  perfect
• was averring
  progressive
• were averring
  progressive
• had been averring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will aver
  simple
• will have averred
  perfect
• will be averring
  progressive
• will have been averring
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of aver

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French averer < Medieval Latin advērāre, equivalent to ad- ad- + -vēr- (< Latin vērus true) + -ā- thematic vowel + -re infinitive suffix

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Explanation

To aver is to state something or declare something is true. This verb has a serious tone, so you might aver something on a witness stand or you might aver that you won't back down to a challenge. The verb aver comes to English via the Latin root words ad, meaning "to," and verus, meaning "true." The word can have the sense of formally declaring something is true, but it can also mean to report positively: "The grandmother averred that her granddaughter would make a fine veterinarian because of her love and caring for animals."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aver avers averred averring

As a native-born Englishman, I will aver that Britain retains some virtues.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026

But many practitioners of Ayurveda or other traditional Indian medicine aver that the churning process used to prepare lassi breaks down the glial proteins in the dairy, making it even easier to digest.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 24, 2022

More important, they aver that inequality causes stress without admitting the possibility that some other factor is contributing to both, or indeed that social breakdown contributes to inequality.

From Economist ● Jun. 14, 2018

Harassing speech can be punished, they aver, but only if true harassment is taking place.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 22, 2017

I do aver Capt. Draper shall grant it, for Capt. Draper is the kindest of Men, & in that Ditch, we all lay Confounded, and should not judge one another.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

“I seen him ride,” one local avers, “and he ain’t no tenderfoot.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

Stephen Carter, author and Yale law professor, avers that “Democracy demands dialogue and dialogue flows from disagreement.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

At every turn, there’s a caress waiting, even if it’s a gambit for affection: “I got a lot on my mind, and I gotta share the pain,” Saint Levant avers.

From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2022

Indeed, the great ecologist E. O. Wilson avers that to be effective in some scientific fields, it's actually best not to be too bright.

From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2022

The priest avers that the flight had no pretext but to get Pompilia free: how should it be otherwise?

From The Browning Cyclop?dia A Guide to the Study of the Works of Robert Browning by Edward Berdoe

The Justice Department then averred that it did not notify customs officers at Boston’s airport quickly enough to stop Alawieh’s placement on a plane to Lebanon.

From Slate ● Mar. 17, 2025

“Across the democratic community, there will always be differences of opinion,” he averred.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2024

A blockade, he averred, was merely a necessary step to put down an internal insurrection.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2024

Besides, CRS averred, it could chase some people away from applying for benefits they are entitled to.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 14, 2023

I averred that I was honored by his recollection, no less than by his attendance upon the first performance.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

What did that even mean?—something akin to the counsel averring that “there is no sky.”

From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2017

I’ve heard from more than one reader over the years averring that an orchestra’s role is simply to play the music of Beethoven, Brahms and their ilk: Forget contemporary stuff, much less diversity.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 13, 2016

In Washington elder Statesman Bernard Baruch, adviser on reconversion, prepared to break his peace, averring only in advance that the Government agencies which had wound the machine up should preside at its unwinding.

From Time Magazine Archive

U. S. delegates protested against theft of exclusive news, scoops and beats, averring that the newspaper which discovers news first should have the sole right, for the day at least, to print the news.

From Time Magazine Archive

She was strangely confused and would not permit us to ride in pursuit of the villain, averring that she had promised him immunity in exchange for her own life.”

From Ainslee's, Vol. 15, No. 6, July 1905 by Various

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