assurance

UK: /əˈʃʊərəns/ US: (ə shŏŏr′əns, -shûr′-)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

as•sur•ance  (ə shŏŏr′əns, -shûr′-), n. 

1. a positive declaration intended to give confidence:
   He received assurances of support for the project.
2. promise or pledge;
   guaranty;
   surety:
   He gave his assurance that the job would be done.
3. full confidence;
   freedom from doubt;
   certainty:
   to act in the assurance of success.
4. freedom from timidity;
   self-confidence;
   belief in one's abilities:
   She acted with speed and assurance.
5. presumptuous boldness;
   impudence.
6. British Terms, Business [Chiefly Brit.] insurance.

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

Synonyms

• 2. warranty, oath.
• 3. See trust. 
• 4. See confidence. 
• 5. effrontery, impertinence, nerve, cheek.

Antonyms

• 3. –5. uncertainty.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

assurance / əˈʃʊərəns/ noun

1. a statement, assertion, etc, intended to inspire confidence or give encouragement
2. a promise or pledge of support
3. freedom from doubt; certainty: his assurance about his own superiority infuriated her
4. forwardness; impudence
5. insurance providing for certainties such as death as contrasted with fire or theft

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

as•sure /əˈʃʊr/   v. [~ + [object] , -sured, -sur•ing. 

1. to declare positively or confidently to:
   She assured us that everything would be all right.
2. to make (a future event) sure;
   guarantee:
   This contract assures the company's profit this month.
3. to give confidence to;
   reassure.
4. British Terms [Chiefly Brit.] to insure against loss.

as•sur•ance, n. [countable* uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

as•sure  (ə shŏŏr′, ə shûr′), v.t., -sured, -sur•ing. 

1. to declare earnestly to;
   inform or tell positively;
   state with confidence to:
   She assured us that everything would turn out all right.
2. to cause to know surely;
   reassure:
   He assured himself that no one was left on the bus.
3. to pledge or promise;
   give surety of;
   guarantee:
   He was assured a job in the spring.
4. to make (a future event) sure;
   ensure:
   This contract assures the company's profit this month.
5. to secure or confirm;
   render safe or stable:
   to assure a person's position.
6. to give confidence to;
   encourage.
7. British Terms [Chiefly Brit.] to insure, as against loss.

• Late Latin assēcūrāre, equivalent. to Latin as- as- + sēcūr- (see secure) + -ā- thematic vowel + -re infinitive suffix
• Old French aseurer
• Middle English as(e)uren, assuren 1325–75

as•sur′er, as•su′ror, n.