asseverate

American  

[uh-sev-uh-reyt] / əˈsɛv əˌreɪt /

verb (used with object)

asseverated, asseverating

1. to declare earnestly or solemnly; affirm positively; aver.

   Synonyms:

   maintain, state, assert

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asseverate British  

/ əˈsɛvəˌreɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to assert or declare emphatically or solemnly

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Other Word Forms

• asseveration
  noun

Etymology

Origin of asseverate

First recorded in 1785–95; < Latin assevērātus “spoken in earnest” (past participle of assevērāre ), equivalent to as- as- + sevēr- ( see severe) + -ātus -ate ¹

Explanation

To asseverate is to declare or affirm something with confidence and seriousness. When you asseverate, you're not just making a statement; you're saying it with such certainty that there's no room for confusion or doubt. The word comes from the Latin root that means "to affirm or maintain." When you asseverate, you speak with conviction. It's like planting your feet and saying, "This is how it is — no doubt about it!" A witness who gives their testimony in the courtroom may asseverate in order to let everyone know that they are telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

asseverate asseverated asseverating

—At this, the Boy suffered some Confusion, then to asseverate, My Tutor is deceased, Sir.

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

Why merely say something, when they can declare, assert, expostulate, announce, or asseverate it?

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Be a man, sir, and asseverate your independence.

From Frank Oldfield Lost and Found by Wilson, Theodore P.

That I long for a sight of your dear face, that I hunger for your touch and for your sweet voice, I need not tell you or further asseverate.

From Doctor Claudius, A True Story by Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion)

If the Cardinal argued the case, the Prince would asseverate, after his manner, and some sort of result was sure to follow.

From Saracinesca by Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion)

In the Daily Mail in 2007, Humphrys asseverated that “vandals” who use “grotesque abbreviations” in their text messages are “pillaging our punctuation; savaging our sentences; raping our vocabulary”.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 25, 2016

Sometimes, Ms. Silveri asseverated, “ ‘she said’ is just the very best way to say that.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 29, 2015

"There still is in this country," he asseverated, "too great grief, too many mourners, too many wounded men for us to tolerate that."

From Time Magazine Archive

Referring to the oil industry in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, Comrade Orakhelashvili asseverated that: Figures from Egypt on the general election just held show that ex-Premier Zaghlul Pasha just missed winning a remarkable victory.

From Time Magazine Archive

"No! no!" asseverated compare Meno, with his head hung low, like a mule's.

From Under the Shadow of Etna Sicilian Stories from the Italian of Giovanni Verga by Verga, Giovanni

She was there admonished to tell the whole truth, but persisted in asseverating that Sidonia had never learned from her how to make a love-drink.

From Sidonia, the Sorceress : the Supposed Destroyer of the Whole Reigning Ducal House of Pomerania — Volume 1 by Meinhold, Wilhelm

It was only by addressing his reason in repeated arguments, and by solemnly asseverating my entire fidelity, that I induced him to yield.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 71, September, 1863 by Various

She would lie there, gazing at me, with a dumb fear in her eyes—and I would go on asseverating blindly, like an unsuccessful actor before a jeering audience.

From Sylvia's Marriage by Sinclair, Upton

The Governor broke off, annoyed to find himself asseverating for the second time so obvious a fact.

From The Hermit and the Wild Woman by Wharton, Edith

Note how your captains of industry are asseverating that factories in the North must cut wages in order to compete with those that have gone South.

From The Hindered Hand or, The Reign of the Repressionist by Bell, Robert E.

Related Words

• allege
• attest
• aver
• avow
• declare
• promise