ascertain

[ as-er-teyn ]

/ ˌæs ərˈteɪn /

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See synonyms for: ascertain / ascertained / ascertaining / ascertainable on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to find out definitely; learn with certainty or assurance; determine: to ascertain the facts.

Archaic. to make certain, clear, or definitely known.

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Origin of ascertain

1400–50; late Middle English, variant of assertain, acertain<Middle French acertain- (tonic stem of acertener to make certain), equivalent to a-a-⁵ + certaincertain

OTHER WORDS FROM ascertain

as·cer·tain·a·ble, adjectiveas·cer·tain·a·bly, adverbas·cer·tain·er, nounas·cer·tain·ment, noun

non·as·cer·tain·a·ble, adjectivenon·as·cer·tain·a·ble·ness, nounnon·as·cer·tain·a·bly, adverbnon·as·cer·tain·ment, nounpre·as·cer·tain, verb (used with object)pre·as·cer·tain·ment, nounun·as·cer·tain·a·ble, adjectiveun·as·cer·tain·a·bly, adverbun·as·cer·tained, adjectivewell-as·cer·tained, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ascertain in a sentence

On the podcast, hosts Andrew Keatts and Sara Libby try to ascertain why a relatively small group of people — the cops — would have any major impact on the county’s vaccine inventory.
Morning Report: What Marten’s Rise Says About Education Politics|Voice of San Diego|February 16, 2021|Voice of San Diego
Google Analytics is a web analytics product from Google that has helped a lot of digital marketers and website owners ascertain the performance of their website.
Seven underrated Google Analytics features that boost performance|Chuks Chukwuemeka|December 18, 2020|Search Engine Watch
To ascertain if the vomeronasal receptors were different from the smell receptors that Axel and Buck discovered, I made a library of the genes expressed by every individual neuron in the mouse VNO.
Catherine Dulac Finds Brain Circuitry Behind Sex-Specific Behaviors|Claudia Dreifus|December 14, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Claudit seemed, none the less, to experience great relief from this first ascertainment.
The Surprises of Life|Georges Clemenceau

In fact no test for its ascertainment, known to the sense or experience of the Committee, was omitted.
Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an American Slave, Written by Himself|Henry Bibb
It would save a world of trouble if the expressions in which this idea is said to be conveyed were equally easy of ascertainment.
Abridgement of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856 (4 of 16 vol.)|Various
Those who look for such ascertainment are on a wrong track, and are doomed to disappointment.
Logic, Inductive and Deductive|William Minto
These, then, are the rules which govern the ascertainment of the shares of the members of a family on a partition.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 4|Various

British Dictionary definitions for ascertain

ascertain

/ (ˌæsəˈteɪn) /

verb (tr)

to determine or discover definitely

archaic to make certain

Derived forms of ascertain

ascertainable, adjectiveascertainably, adverbascertainment, noun

Word Origin for ascertain

C15: from Old French acertener to make certain

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ascertain

Origin of ascertain

OTHER WORDS FROM ascertain

Words related to ascertain

How to use ascertain in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ascertain

Derived forms of ascertain

Word Origin for ascertain