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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ASCERTAIN

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pronounce ASCERTAIN:

ASS ur TANE
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connect this word to others:

Could you give a quick definition for the word ascertain? I bet you can, even if you're not familiar with it! You could spot the word certain inside it and say that to ascertain is "to make certain, to make sure." 

See if you can do the same with these four terms:

1. Could you define appertain by using the word pertain? 

2. Could you define affront by using the word front?

3. Could you define aggrandize by using the word grand?

4. Could you define ad infinitum by using the word infinity?

All five of those terms (ascertain, appertain, affront, aggrandize, and ad infinitum) have a prefix that means the same thing, despite being spelled different ways (as-, ap-, af-, ag-, and ad). If you're feeling ambitious, could you define that prefix?

definition:

"Ascertain" came into English through French, ultimately from Latin. It literally means "to give certainty, to give assurance, or to give information."

That's what it meant in English, too, at first. Over time, we flipped the meaning around a bit. Instead of "give information," it now means "find information."

In other words, to ascertain information is to find out for sure what's true or accurate.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Verb, the transitive kind: "They're trying to ascertain the details;" "The reason was something I could never ascertain."

Other forms: 

Ascertained, ascertaining; ascertainable; ascertainment; ascertainer(s).

how to use it:

When you need to sound extremely formal, pick the word "ascertain" instead of more casual synonyms like "find out" and "figure out." I'd say it's even a little more formal than "determine" and "verify."

Talk about people ascertaining information.

More specifically, we often talk about people ascertaining that something is true, as in "He ascertained that a neighbor had broken the window."

We also ascertain if something is true, as in "He wants to ascertain if his neighbor broke the window."

And, we ascertain who, what, where, when, why, and how: "He ascertained who broke the window;" "She ascertained when the murder took place."

examples:

"Despite years of research, it has not been possible to ascertain the circumstances of the sale, nor even to identify who put the painting up for auction."
— Catherine Hickley, New York Times, 13 June 2023

   "A stout, middle-aged man, with enormous owl-eyed spectacles, was sitting somewhat drunk on the edge of a great table, staring with unsteady concentration at the shelves of books...
   'What do you think?' he demanded impetuously.
   'About what?'
   He waved his hand towards the bookshelves.
   'About that. As a matter of fact you needn't bother to ascertain. I ascertained. They're real.'
   'The books?'
   He nodded.
   'Absolutely real—have pages and everything.'"
— F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 1925

has this page helped you understand "ascertain"?

   

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.


study it:

Explain the meaning of "ascertain" without saying "make sure" or "determine."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) ascertains (some valuable piece of information)."

Example 1: "Some men who use dating apps have ascertained that they'll scare women away by labeling themselves 'conservative;' thus, they label themselves 'moderate' or 'apolitical.'"

Example 2: "All undertakers gave this 'service.' It was a trick to ascertain how much insurance there was. Once they knew the amount, the funeral cost eighty percent of it."
— Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1943




before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for August is "Degrees of Venndom."

I'll give you a pair of terms, and you decide how Venn-diagrammable they are. It's harder than it sounds! To see my suggested answer, scroll all the way down. Your response doesn't need to match mine; you should just be able to defend yours.

Try this today: At what degree of Venndom do PONY and HORSE exist? 

4th degree: these terms never overlap, like DOG and CAT.

3rd degree: these terms are nested, with one term always the other but not vice versa, like KITTEN and CAT.

2nd degree: these terms sometimes overlap, like PET and MAMMAL.

1st degree: these terms always overlap, like CAT and FELINE.

review this word:

1. The opposite of ASCERTAIN could be

A. REQUEST or ADJURE.
B. FORGET or OBSCURE.
C. SHADE or TINCTURE.

2. Truman Capote wrote in In Cold Blood: "Here the door was partly open; she opened it somewhat more—enough to ascertain _____."

A. his glare of fiery mistrust
B. the furniture with its scent of leather
C. that the office was filled only with shadow




Answers to the review questions:
1. B
2. C

Answer to the game question:

I'm going with the 2nd degree for PONY and HORSE. My understanding is that they belong to the same species, with the difference being that a pony is shorter than 14.2hh at maturity, while a horse is taller than that. So you might be thinking they belong to the 4th degree, never overlapping. But what about a member of the Equus caballus species who's exactly 14.2hh?


a final word:


I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.


From my blog:
On vocabulary...
      36 ways to study words.
      Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
      How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
      How to improve any sentence.
      How to motivate our kids to write.
      How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
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A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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