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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"The Hunger Games" Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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Chains
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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:
In a meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in May, his South Korean counterpart said they would consider a “phased” contribution to ensure vessels could pass through the strait.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
She said the force would work with partners to ensure affected residents would be supported.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
The Northern Health Trust said the decision for the move was to ensure a safe, stable and sustainable service and added that Causeway would continue to be an acute hospital with a 24/7 emergency department.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
"It's a serious storm," Governor Josh Green said, proclaiming a state of emergency to ensure the state and its counties "have sufficient resources to clear debris, secure infrastructure, and take other measures to prepare."
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
To protect our nation’s secrets, President Truman had issued an order requiring that all government employees be tested to ensure they were loyal to the United States.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
“This agreement with Merlin ensures participating artists are credited and compensated, and that every creation drives listeners back to the original work,” Charlie Hellman, Spotify’s global head of music, said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Carrying out controlled fires on a regular basis ensures that when the big one comes, its spread is contained.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
Writing like this ensures that “Diarra From Detroit” remains nimble from start to finish of each episode.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
Marital trusts are key for blended families, so each spouse ensures that their respective children are taken care of if one of them dies.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Now, more than a century later, another library ensures that those adventures can be remembered as she lived them.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
The lawsuit claims Polestar ensured its own demise by refusing to engage with regulators or appeal the government decision as Volvo did.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
They ensured families were given priority to see the man who wronged their loved ones face justice.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
The target folders ensured that agents apprehended the correct person.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Another birdie on the 17th ensured he finished under par and within touching distance of the leaders.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
It was only printing that ensured that a significant number of astronomers had access to Regiomontanus’s text on parallax after 1531.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
A trust spokesperson said the recommendation, which would still see elective surgery delivered at Causeway, was aimed at ensuring it "can continue to deliver a safe, stable and sustainable service".
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
During that time, Mexican negotiators have shifted their focus from pushing for tariff-free treatment to ensuring that levies on their products are lower than on goods from outside North America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
In Sakhalin, Putin, 73, held a meeting "on ensuring the security of Russia's eastern borders," RIA Novosti said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
This would continue to provide companies strong financial incentives to discover new, innovative therapies, while also ensuring that pricing is tied to objectively measurable value.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
She had been charged with ensuring Nicole Castro’s eventual return to the Hollows and her transition back to normalcy—whatever that could be with half your face burned away—went smoothly.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
Definitions 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.
