All words

ascertain

Meaning

To establish or determine something with assurance.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

When the fire alarm rang at night, Maya ran through the house to ascertain that her brother was safe. Her heart beat fast as she checked each room. She needed to find out for certain that everyone was awake and no one was in danger.

He had to find out for certain if the door was locked. He wiggled the handle, then pushed. Still no give. He had to ascertain the lock's status before he could rest easy.

He leaned closer to the radio, straining to ascertain whether the storm warning was for his county. The crackling signal made each word critical, and his family's safety depended on catching every detail before deciding whether to seek shelter.

Before Tim ate the strange cake his neighbor made, he wanted to ascertain it was not made of socks and toothpaste. He asked his neighbor twelve times, checked the ingredients list, and even called his mom, just to find out for certain it was safe.

Barry the badger needed to ascertain if the mysterious rustling in his sock drawer was a snack or just a runaway button. He bravely poked his snout in, eyes wide. Nope, just a fuzzy ball. Barry sighed; the quest for snacks was never-ending!

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

The first step is to ascertain whether the door is open or closed. If it is closed, we need to ascertain whether it is locked. If it is locked, we need to ascertain whether we have a key. If we don't have a key, we need to find another way to get inside.

The teacher sought to ascertain the skill level of the students before Divide and conquer strategy essay paper the lesson. A poll was taken to ascertain the public's opinion on the new law. The financial adviser ascertained how much money the client wanted to invest. The detective ascertained that the crime was committed by the maid.

To ascertain means to find out for certain or make sure of. The definition of public is people in general considered as a whole. So, to ascertain something means that you are finding out information that is generally known by people.

I wanted to ascertain whether the paint was red before I bought it. I ascertained that it was, and bought it.

I tried to ascertain the source of the noise, but it was too dark to see anything. Suddenly, a kid jumped out from behind the bushes and scared me.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

When the fire alarm rang at midnight, Maria rushed to her children's rooms to ascertain their safety. Her heart raced until she could find out for certain that they were both awake and unharmed. Only then did her worry finally start to ease.

She had to ascertain if the old map's X truly marked the buried treasure. A knot of worry tightened in her stomach as she scanned the crumbling parchment, desperate to be sure before digging up someone's prized garden.

He leaned closer to the phone, straining to ascertain whether the muffled sounds in the background were truly his sister's voice or just another trick of the static. Her safety meant everything, and he needed absolute clarity about what was happening on the other end of the line.

When Linda heard mysterious rustling in her kitchen at midnight, she grabbed a broom—not for cleaning, but to ascertain whether the intruder was a burglar, a raccoon, or just her neighbor’s cat searching for leftover lasagna again. She bravely poked until she was sure, and then screamed anyway.

Barnaby suspected his prize-winning rutabaga had been pilfered. He meticulously scoured the garden, sniffing for clues and interrogating a suspiciously silent gnome. To ascertain the truth, he dusted for fingerprints on a discarded carrot top, hoping to find the culprit with irrefutable evidence.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

Maria hesitated before entering the hospital room, her apprehension growing. She needed to ascertain her father's condition, unwilling to settle for ambiguous assurances from distracted nurses. The urgency to find out for certain overwhelmed her, so she pressed for clear answers, determined to make sure he was truly recovering.

With a gnawing dread, she waited for the doctor's prognosis. She needed to ascertain if the surgery had been successful, if the insidious disease had been vanquished. Every second stretched into an agonizing eternity until the official word confirmed her deepest hopes.

Detective Rodriguez leaned closer to the witness, trying to ascertain the precise details of the incident. Her keen eyes watched for subtle shifts in body language, listening intently as the man recounted what he had seen that night.

Despite Harold's sworn conviction that the neighbor’s gnome was alive, he donned night-vision goggles, deployed motion-activated cameras, and even disguised himself as a flamingo to ascertain—find out for certain—whether the ceramic creature truly ventured into his garden after dusk. His astonished cat was unimpressed.

Perplexed by the mysterious disappearance of the last donut, Bartholomew painstakingly began to ascertain its whereabouts. Had it been pilfered by his incorrigible terrier, Barnaby, or had a spectral sugar fiend absconded with the glazed prize? He meticulously examined crumbs for clues, hoping to ascertain the pastry's ultimate destiny.

Difficulty

Normal — Everyday words worth reinforcing.

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