Adjacent Words

Ascertain definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ASCERTA'IN, v.t. [L. ad certum, to a certainty.]
1. To make certain; to define or reduce to precision by moving obscurity or ambiguity.
The divine law ascertains the truth.
2. To make certain, by trial, examination or experiment, so as to know what was before unknown; as, to ascertain the weight of a commodity, or the purity of a metal.
3. To make sure by previous measures.
The ministry, in order to ascertain a majority in the house of lords, persuaded the queen to create twelve new peers.
4. To make certain or confident, followed by a pronoun; as, to ascertain us of the goodness of our work. [unusual.]
5. To fix; to establish with certainty; to render invariable, and not subject to will.
The mildness and precision of their laws ascertained the rule and measure of taxation.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study; "find the product of two numbers"; "The physicist who found the elusive particle won the Nobel Prize" [syn: determine, find, find out, ascertain]
2: be careful or certain to do something; make certain of something; "He verified that the valves were closed"; "See that the curtains are closed"; "control the quality of the product" [syn: see, check, insure, see to it, ensure, control, ascertain, assure]
3: find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort; "I want to see whether she speaks French"; "See whether it works"; "find out if he speaks Russian"; "Check whether the train leaves on time" [syn: determine, check, find out, see, ascertain, watch, learn]
4: learn or discover with certainty

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Middle English acertainen to inform, give assurance to, from Anglo-French acerteiner, from a- (from Latin ad-) + certein, certain certain Date: 15th century 1. archaic to make certain, exact, or precise 2. to find out or learn with certainty Synonyms: see discover • ascertainable adjective • ascertainment noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 find out as a definite fact. 2 get to know. Derivatives: ascertainable adj. ascertainment n. Etymology: ME f. OF acertener, stem acertain- f. à to + CERTAIN

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ascertain As`cer*tain", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ascertained; p. pr. & vb. n. Ascertaining.] [OF. acertener; a (L. ad) + certain. See Certain.] 1. To render (a person) certain; to cause to feel certain; to make confident; to assure; to apprise. [Obs.] When the blessed Virgin was so ascertained. --Jer. Taylor. Muncer assured them that the design was approved of by Heaven, and that the Almighty had in a dream ascertained him of its effects. --Robertson. 2. To make (a thing) certain to the mind; to free from obscurity, doubt, or change; to make sure of; to fix; to determine. [Archaic] The divine law . . . ascertaineth the truth. --Hooker. The very deferring [of his execution] shall increase and ascertain the condemnation. --Jer. Taylor. The ministry, in order to ascertain a majority . . . persuaded the queen to create twelve new peers. --Smollett. The mildness and precision of their laws ascertained the rule and measure of taxation. --Gibbon. 3. To find out or learn for a certainty, by trial, examination, or experiment; to get to know; as, to ascertain the weight of a commodity, or the purity of a metal. He was there only for the purpose of ascertaining whether a descent on England was practicable. --Macaulay.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(ascertains, ascertaining, ascertained) If you ascertain the truth about something, you find out what it is, especially by making a deliberate effort to do so. (FORMAL) Through doing this, the teacher will be able to ascertain the extent to which the child understands what he is reading... Once they had ascertained that he was not a spy, they agreed to release him... Take time to ascertain what services your bank is providing, and at what cost. = establish VERB: V n, V that, V wh

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Determine, establish, fix, settle, define, certify, verify, make certain, make sure. 2. Discover, find out, get at (with precision).

Moby Thesaurus

afford proof of, appraise, ask, assure, be informed, become acquainted with, bring home to, broaden the mind, catch on, certify, cinch, clear up, clinch, consider, contemplate, cram the mind, decide, demonstrate, determine, discover, dismiss all doubt, ensure, establish, find, find out, find out about, fix, follow, follow from, gain knowledge, get, get at, get hold of, have a case, hear, hold good, hold water, inquire, inspect, insure, interrogate, learn, learn about, load the mind, make a decision, make certain, make good, make no doubt, make no mistake, make out, make sure, make sure of, nail down, observe, pick up information, prove, prove to be, prove true, query, question, reassure, remove all doubt, resolve, see, see that, see to it, set at rest, settle, settle the matter, show, sort out, study, survey, tumble, unearth, view, weigh