assert
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to state with assurance, confidence, or force; state strongly or positively; affirm; aver.
He asserted his innocence of the crime.
- Synonyms:
- maintain, avow, asseverate
- Antonyms:
- deny
-
to maintain or defend (claims, rights, etc.).
-
to state as having existence; affirm; postulate.
to assert a first cause as necessary.
idioms
verb
-
to insist upon (rights, claims, etc)
-
(may take a clause as object) to state to be true; declare categorically
-
to put (oneself) forward in an insistent manner
Related Words
Other Word Forms
- asserter noun
- assertible adjective
- assertor noun
- misassert verb (used with object)
- overassert verb (used with object)
- preassert verb (used with object)
- reassert verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of assert
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin assertus “joined to, defended, claimed,” past participle of asserere “to join to, defend,” from as- as- + serere “to connect” ( series )
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.
“Those taxpayers are left to defend their tax returns when the government suddenly appears unannounced, out of nowhere, asserting massive tax liabilities from decades earlier,” the filing said.
From MarketWatch
It is much too soon to assert that this is likely or even plausible.
From BBC
Rosie Clark, a Maryland volunteer who did some genealogical research on the Cheltenham burial site, asserts that many official documents were forged.
From Barron's
In doing so, Paxton and other states’ attorneys general asserted, the investors broke antitrust laws.
Citadel’s macro strategist Frank Flight asserts that AI adoption will be slower than many think and therefore abrupt labor disruption is unlikely to happen.
From MarketWatch
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.
