assurance
[uh-shoo r-uh ns, -shur-]
- a positive declaration intended to give confidence: He received assurances of support for the project.
- promise or pledge; guaranty; surety: He gave his assurance that the job would be done.
- full confidence; freedom from doubt; certainty: to act in the assurance of success.
- freedom from timidity; self-confidence; belief in one's abilities: She acted with speed and assurance.
- presumptuous boldness; impudence.
- Chiefly British. insurance.
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Origin of assurance
Synonyms
See more synonyms for assurance on Thesaurus.com2. warranty, oath. 5. effrontery, impertinence, nerve, cheek.
Synonym study
Antonyms
3–5. uncertainty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for assurance
Contemporary Examples
To an audience destabilized by seismic changes in the culture, he brings the assurance (and the threat) that Obama et al.
And by pronouncing other cultures and political systems “evil,” there was the assurance that America was good.
It was on this assurance that the FAA certified that the 787 was safe to fly again.
But waiting several more months for that to happen seems like an extremely risky strategy, with no assurance of success.
Assurance eventually becomes arrogance; confidence curdles into entitlement.
Historical Examples
This assurance satisfied the others, but it did not satisfy Harriet.
Harriet, The Moses of Her PeopleSarah H. Bradford
The letters being taken away will be an assurance that you have them.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
We aim at the assurance of a rounded and permanent national life.
This was what Mr. Gladstone hoped, and what he thought he had the assurance of.
The Grand Old ManRichard B. Cook
He sent up to beg leave to wait upon me—I wonder at his assurance—!
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
assurance
- a statement, assertion, etc, intended to inspire confidence or give encouragementshe was helped by his assurance that she would cope
- a promise or pledge of supporthe gave an assurance of help when needed
- freedom from doubt; certaintyhis assurance about his own superiority infuriated her
- forwardness; impudence
- mainly British insurance providing for certainties such as death as contrasted with fire or theft
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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
Word Origin and History for assurance
n.
late 14c., "formal or solemn pledge, promise," also "certainty," from Old French asseurance (11c., Modern French assurance) "assurance, promise; truce; certainty, safety, security," from asseurer (see assure). The word had a negative tinge 18c., often suggesting impudence or presumption.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper