ASCERTAIN • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Ascertain

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/ˌæsərtˈeɪn/ Listen

verb

Ascertain v. t. (past & past part. ascertained; pres. part. ascertaining)

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." "Muncer assured them that the design was approved of by Heaven, and that the Almighty had in a dream ascertained him of its effects."

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." "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."

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."

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Etymology of 'Ascertain'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Ascertain" Quotes from Famous Books

... indeed, he already knew from his astronomical specialists. He was very anxious to have more detailed information of what he called this extraordinary state of affairs, for from the solidity of the earth there had always been a disposition regard it as uninhabitable. He endeavoured first to ascertain the extremes of temperature to which we earth beings were exposed, and he was deeply interested by my descriptive treatment of clouds and rain. His imagination was assisted by the fact that the lunar atmosphere ...

— The First Men In The Moon • H. G. Wells

... me anything but favorably toward them; they critically examine my clothing from helmet to moccasins, eying my various belongings wistfully, tapping my leather case, and pinching the rear package to try and ascertain the nature of its contents. I gather from their remarks about "para " (a term used in a general sense for money, as well as for the small coin of that name), as they regard the leather case with a covetous eye, that they are inclined to the opinion that it ...

— Around the World on a Bicycle V1 • Thomas Stevens

... party of seven young men, seeing a lone tepee standing on the edge of a heavy belt of timber, stopped and waited for darkness, in order to send one of their scouts ahead to ascertain whether the camp which they had seen was the ...

— Myths and Legends of the Sioux • Marie L. McLaughlin

... York. To-morrow I shall send a dozen men out to scour the country to the east, west and south. They are not likely to find Mackenzie—he is doubtless safe in one of the Northwest Company's posts by this time—but they may run across some of Gray Moose's braves, and ascertain from them what ...

— The Cryptogram - A Story of Northwest Canada • William Murray Graydon

... conferred upon the duke of Ormond, an accomplished nobleman, who had acquired great popularity by the success of the expedition to Vigo. The parties in the house of lords were so nearly matched, that the queen, in order to ascertain an undoubted majority in the next session, created four new peers, [115] [See note-J, at the end of this Vol.] who had signalized themselves by the violence of their speeches in ...

— The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.II. - From William and Mary to George II. • Tobias Smollett

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