ensure
Americanverb (used with object)
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ensures,
present (3rd person singular)
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ensured,
past participle, past
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ensuring
present participle
verb
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(may take a clause as object) to make certain or sure; guarantee
this victory will ensure his happiness
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to make safe or secure; protect
Usage
What's the difference between ensure, insure, and assure? Ensure most commonly means to guarantee or make certain, as in Working hard ensures success. Insure typically means to guarantee against loss or harm or, more specifically, to cover with insurance. Assure usually means to tell someone something with confidence or to cause someone to know something with certainty—it often means the same thing as reassure. It’s no wonder there’s confusion between the three words—all three are verbs that are based on the Latin root sēcūrus, meaning safe. Making things even more confusing is the fact that ensure and insure can be used interchangeably in most senses. Still, insure is much more commonly used in the context of insurance, like car insurance, health insurance, and homeowner’s insurance. These kinds of insurance insure you—they give you coverage that provides you with compensation in certain cases and situations. Ensure is typically used in a more general way in the context of actions that are done to make sure that something happens or is the case, as in We need to ensure that the meeting starts on time. Assure is always used in the context of communication, especially in situations in which someone is trying to make someone else feel better about something. It’s used in the phrase rest assured. Here’s a quick cheat sheet to remember the most common uses of each word:ensure = make sureinsure = cover with insuranceassure = reassureHere’s an example of ensure, insure, and assure used correctly in a sentence. Example: She assured me that the company has ensured that every employee has the opportunity to be insured. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between ensure, insure, and assure.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ensuresimple
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ensuressimple
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have ensuredperfect
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has ensuredperfect
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am ensuringprogressive
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are ensuringprogressive
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is ensuringprogressive
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have been ensuringperfect progressive
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has been ensuringperfect progressive
Past
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ensuredsimple
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had ensuredperfect
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was ensuringprogressive
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were ensuringprogressive
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had been ensuringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ensure
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English ensuren, from Anglo-French enseurer; see en- 1 ( def. ), sure ( def. )
Explanation
When you ensure that something will happen, you guarantee it. All that homework will ensure that you have no time for fun this afternoon! Ensure comes from the Old French en- "make" plus seur "sure," and that is exactly what it means today - "to make sure or certain, to guarantee." If you ensure success or someone's safety, you are guaranteeing it. Make sure you can really come through with something before you ensure it!
Vocabulary lists containing ensure
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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.
See Examples For:
It said this was to "ensure their experiences were heard and reflected as part of this review".
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
Longer-term assignments should be subjected to thesis-style “defenses” in class or faculty office hours to ensure student originality and deep knowledge of the work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
According to the White House, the aim is to support policy reforms to ensure that women’s research is well-funded and that women have access to “stage-specific prevention, diagnoses, treatment, and care.”
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026
Her union is demanding the government increase the minimum wage, boost salaries in line with inflation, and ensure enough money for schools and public services.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
And a robust captive breeding program in China helps ensure a growing panda population.
From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh
"We also know that this epigenetic rejuvenation ensures that the cells actually behave like young cells," says the scientist.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026
The fact that I and countless other writers are typing out similar commentaries all but ensures it.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2026
The upside-down life ensures peak performance—and zero readjustment when they head back home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
That ensures the extra revenue generated by the tax would come in addition to the department’s regular budget.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
But the curse of knowledge ensures that most writers will overestimate how standard a term has become and how wide the community is that has learned it.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Turkey will keep its own troops in Syria and Iraq until border security with its two neighbours has been fully ensured, Defence Minister Yasar Guler told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
Linster discovered one of the only two known examples and ensured it was available for scientific research.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026
In doing so, he ensured the phone booth met the minimum threshold of a call a week to stay in service for another year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Finishing their four-game window with a 0-0 stalemate against Georgia on Monday night ensured Michael O'Neill's side earned eight across a mere 11 days.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
“I assure you,” said the grieving widow, “I ensured he was insured to the hilt. ” avert/avoid.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
It may also be essential for keeping mitochondria functioning and ensuring cells have enough energy.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026
However, the CMA argued that, unlike the EU, it is focused on ensuring the interoperability of particular aspects of Apple's tech, such as digital wallets and watches.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
"Our role is to create the right conditions for elections by ensuring peace and stability across Tigray," mayor Shishay Amare told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
His job was ensuring commanders had smooth communication with their units and access to feeds from reconnaissance drones and surveillance cameras.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
If I’d kept my wits about me, I could have taken their dowsing compass away, ensuring my safety.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
