aver
Americanverb (used with object)
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to assert or affirm with confidence; declare in a positive or peremptory manner.
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Law. to allege as a fact.
verb
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to state positively; assert
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law to allege as a fact or prove to be true
Synonym Usage
See maintain.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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aversimple
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averssimple
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have averredperfect
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has averredperfect
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am averringprogressive
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are averringprogressive
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is averringprogressive
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have been averringperfect progressive
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has been averringperfect progressive
Past
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averredsimple
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had averredperfect
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was averringprogressive
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were averringprogressive
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had been averringperfect progressive
Future
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
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."
Vocabulary lists containing aver
The Call of the Wild
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Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
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
The speakers were divided into six groups which aver aged about 176 words each, or more than 1,000 words a day.
From Washington Times ● May 17, 2017
“I aver, sir, 1 have so little conception of the direction of this interview' that I cannot offer any reply whatsoever.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
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
Twitter further avers that Tweets have a maximum length of 280 characters.
From The Verge ● Aug. 4, 2022
Just as their name avers without nuance, wetlands are low-lying parcels of land that are, indeed, wet — sometimes permanently, sometimes seasonally — and found both inland and in coastal regions.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2021
This gentleman avers that everything that I said about persecution is applicable to the Catholic Church only.
From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 7 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Discussions by Ingersoll, Robert Green
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 mended, though others sicken.
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
He pointed to the house of old Squire Featherston, rightly averring no better entertainment or hospitality could be found anywhere in all the world than in that generous and hearty home.
From Oliver Goldsmith by Buckland, E. S. Lang
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
