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:
Tottenham counterpart Martin Ho says the onus is on clubs and players to ensure the product on the field is worth watching.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
The single propeller plane, registration HB-SXA, is made of carbon fibre to ensure lightness and strength.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Nonetheless, there has been a noted effort to ensure fire equipment and personnel are ready to respond to any potential ignitions in high-fire-hazard zones across the county.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
And in the LLM era, human involvement remains a necessary failsafe—not just as an error-catcher, but to ensure meaning survives.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
So Washington decided to give Gray even more bits of truth to ensure that Gray would be trusted by his British handlers.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
The fact that I and countless other writers are typing out similar commentaries all but ensures it.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2026
The victory ensures he retains his number two ranking from the Netherlands' Gian van Veen.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Gen. Dan Rayfield said it “keeps real competition in place, ensures that productions will continue, and ensures journalistic independence.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
The deal ensures that no hostile states—specified as non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization or non-European Union members or partners—can establish military bases or invest in sensitive infrastructure in Greenland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
“Good intention” is a hall pass through history, a sleeping pill that ensures the Dream.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
A second-half revival ensured embarrassment was avoided - and instead gave us a classic.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
An assist and a goal by the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner ensured a 2-0 victory over the African side.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Soon, the police were there in force, but the dedication of the outraged, chanting crowd demanding the men’s release ensured this would be no ordinary standoff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
In the meantime, the trade-policy question mark has ensured that the U.S. has abundant supplies of a critical metal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
A direct hit turned the tide of the battle and ensured that Maçao remained a Portuguese colony.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
“The Department remains committed to ensuring that all uses of force are thoroughly investigated and evaluated through established administrative review processes and independent oversight,” the department said in an emailed statement to The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
"We remain committed to tackling antisemitism and ensuring Jewish members feel welcome and respected."
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Dwayne grapples with ensuring the university isn’t forced to shut down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
Pillay's work had been "instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide are prosecuted", said the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Jørgen Watne Frydnes.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
The machine contested Du Bois at every turn, ensuring that the NAACP’s magazine, Crisis, was banned from Negro college campuses and pulling strings in an attempt to destroy Du Bois and his movement.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
