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asseverate

verb
as·​sev·​er·​ate | \ ə-ˈse-və-ˌrāt How to pronounce asseverate (audio) \
asseverated; asseverating

Definition of asseverate

transitive verb

: to affirm or declare positively or earnestly he always asseverated that he did not know— G. K. Chesterton
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Other Words from asseverate

asseveration \ -​ˌse-​və-​ˈrā-​shən How to pronounce asseveration (audio) \ noun
asseverative \ -​ˈse-​və-​ˌrā-​tiv How to pronounce asseverative (audio) \ adjective

Did You Know?

Sharing writing advice in a 2001 article in the New York Times, the novelist Elmore Leonard wrote that he "had to stop reading to get the dictionary" when he encountered "she asseverated" instead of "she said" in a work by Mary McCarthy. We say with all seriousness that asseverate is a fancy word meaning "to assert or declare." It was formed in Latin from the prefix ad- ("to, toward") and the verb severare, a relative of the adjective severus, meaning "serious or severe." Nowadays asseverate is rare, used mostly, as Mr. Leonard found out, by those who like to show off their vocabularies.

First Known Use of asseverate

1642, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for asseverate

Latin asseveratus, past participle of asseverare, from ad- + severus severe

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Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with asseverate

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