asseverate

[ uh-sev-uh-reyt ]

verb (used with object)

, as·sev·er·at·ed, as·sev·er·at·ing.

1. to declare earnestly or solemnly; affirm positively; aver.

   Synonyms: maintain, state, assert

asseverate

/ əˈsɛvəˌreɪt /

verb

1. tr to assert or declare emphatically or solemnly

Derived Forms

• asˌseverˈation, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of asseverate¹

First recorded in 1785–95; < Latin assevērātus “spoken in earnest” (past participle of assevērāre ), equivalent to as- as- + sevēr- ( severe ) + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of asseverate¹

C18: from Latin assevērāre to do (something) earnestly, from sevērus severe

Example Sentences

—At this, the Boy suffered some Confusion, then to asseverate, My Tutor is deceased, Sir.

From Literature

Why merely say something, when they can declare, assert, expostulate, announce, or asseverate it?

From Literature

We asseverate it in a peculiarly earnest manner, or with increased positiveness as what can not be disputed.

From Project Gutenberg

People asseverate in order to produce a conviction of their veracity; they aver when they are peculiarly desirous to be believed; they protest when they wish to free themselves from imputations, or to produce a conviction of their innocence.

From Project Gutenberg

In vain did the author asseverate that he was delighted to see her; she rushed away without another word; but that evening she wrote him an ecstatic letter from her dressing-room about what it had meant to her and what it always would mean to her to think of his working like that for her.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• allege
• attest
• aver
• avow
• declare
• promise