assurance

[uh-shoor-uhns, -shur-]

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noun

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.

Nearby words

Origin of assurance

1325–75; Middle English ass(e)ura(u)nce < Middle French ass(e)urance. See assure, -ance

SYNONYMS FOR assurance

2. warranty, oath. 5. effrontery, impertinence, nerve, cheek.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR assurance ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR assurance

3–5. uncertainty.

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Related formspre·as·sur·ance, noun

Can be confusedassurance insurance

Synonym study

3. See trust. 4. See confidence.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for assurance

To an audience destabilized by seismic changes in the culture, he brings the assurance (and the threat) that Obama et al.
Glenn Beck Is Now Selling Hipster Clothes. Really.|Ana Marie Cox|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And by pronouncing other cultures and political systems “evil,” there was the assurance that America was good.
How Obama's Shallow Worldview Failed Us|Stuart Stevens|August 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was on this assurance that the FAA certified that the 787 was safe to fly again.
NTSB Doesn’t Think the Boeing 787 Dreamliner Is Safe Enough to Fly|Clive Irving|May 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But waiting several more months for that to happen seems like an extremely risky strategy, with no assurance of success.
Looking Anew at the Iran Nuclear Agreement|Alan Elsner|December 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Assurance eventually becomes arrogance; confidence curdles into entitlement.
The Rise of Selfie Pop: Why Songs About Self-Esteem Are All the Rage|Andrew Romano|December 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
One encourages oneself in Italy when it is cold, with the assurance that it can't last.
The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Volume II|Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Then he gave her his hand, with the assurance that the thought of her would make it a pleasure to remember Alexandria.
A Thorny Path [Per Aspera], Complete|Georg Ebers
The council sent the mother and son away with the assurance of immediate action.
Comrades|Thomas Dixon
The assurance of future well-behaviour, which the Servian government gave at that time, it has not kept.
Why We Are At War (2nd Edition, revised)|Members of the Oxford Faculty of Modern History
I give you the assurance with all the solemnity possible that my devotion to her is greater to-day than ever.
The Faith Doctor|Edward Eggleston

British Dictionary definitions for assurance

assurance

noun

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

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

assurance

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.