Etymology : Middle English acertainen, from Middle French acertainer, from a- + certain
Pronunciation : "a-s&r-'tAn
Function : transitive verb
Date : 15th century
1. clarify, verify, confirm. ascertain\as`cer*tain"\ , v. t. [imp. & p. p. ascertained ; p. pr. & vb. n. ascertaining.] [of. acertener; a (l. ad) + certain. see:
certain.].
2. to render (a person) certain; to cause to feel certain; to make confident; to assure; to apprise. [obs.] when the blessed virgin was so ascertained. taylor. muncer assured them that the design was approved of by heaven, and that the almighty had in a dream ascertained him of its effects.
3. to make (a thing) certain to the mind; to free from obscurity, doubt, or change; to make sure of; to fix; to determine. [archaic] the divine law ascertaineth the truth. the very deferring [of his execution] shall increase and ascertain the condemnation. taylor. the ministry, in order to ascertain a majority persuaded the queen to create twelve new peers. the mildness and precision of their laws ascertained the rule and measure of taxation.
4. to find out or learn for a certainty, by trial, examination, or experiment; to get to know; as, to ascertain the weight of a commodity, or the purity of a metal. he was there only for the purpose of ascertaining whether a descent on england was practicable.ascertain v.
5. after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study; "find the product of two numbers"; "the physicist who found the elusive particle won the nobel prize" [syn: determine, find, find out].
6. be careful or certain to do something; make certain of something; "he verified that the valves were closed"; "see:
that the curtains are closed"; "control the quality of the product" [syn: see, check, insure, see:
to it, ensure, control, assure].
7. find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort; "i want to see:
whether she speaks french"; "see:
whether it works"; "find out if he speaks russian"; "check whether the train leaves on time" [syn: determine, check, find out, see, watch, learn].
8. learn or discover with certainty.
9. To render certain; to cause to feel certain; to make confident; to assure; to apprise.
10. To make certain to the mind; to free from obscurity, doubt, or change; to make sure of; to fix; to determine.
11. To find out or learn for a certainty, by trial, examination, or experiment; to get to know; as, to ascertain the weight of a commodity, or the purity of a metal. learn or discover with certainty.
12. If you ascertain the truth about something, you find out what it is, especially by making a deliberate effort to do so. Through doing this, the teacher will be able to ascertain the extent to which the child understands what he is reading Once they had ascertained that he was not a spy, they agreed to release him Take time to ascertain what services your bank is providing, and at what cost. = establish. to find out something (acertainer, from certain).