- Assure is a verb meaning to promise or give confidence to someone.
- Assurance is a noun referring to the promise or the confidence provided.
Key takeaways:
Assure, insure, and ensure all involve providing certainty or security, but each has a specific context.
Assure is used in the context of giving a guarantee or reassurance to a person.
Insure is typically related to financial protection, particularly through insurance.
Ensure refers to making sure that something happens or is done.
Part of the series Grammar Debugged—English for Devs
The English language can be tricky when it comes to words that sound similar but have different meanings. Assure, insure, and ensure are often confused due to their overlap in meaning, but they are not interchangeable. Understanding the subtle differences will not only improve your writing but also ensure you use each term in the right context.
Assure is a
I assure you everything will be ready by tomorrow.
She assured him that the issue would be resolved.
Can you assure us there will be no delays?
Insure refers specifically to providing financial protection against loss or damage, often through insurance policies. This term is mostly used in contexts related to finance, property, health, and risk management. For example:
You should insure your car against accidents.
We decided to insure the event in case of cancellations.
The company will insure its assets for full protection.
Ensure means to make certain or guarantee that something happens or is done. It’s used when you want to emphasize taking steps to make sure something is achieved. For example:
The safety measures ensure a secure working environment.
We need to ensure the doors are locked before leaving.
They ensure quality control before shipping products.
Mistake 1: Using assure for financial protection
Incorrect: I will assure my house against damage.
Correct: I will insure my house against damage.
Mistake 2: Using ensure for personal reassurance
Incorrect: I will ensure you that everything is fine.
Correct: I will assure you that everything is fine.
Mistake 3: confusing insure and ensure
Incorrect: You should insure that the project is finished on time.
Correct: You should ensure that the project is finished on time.
Key aspect | Assure | Insure | Ensure |
Purpose | To promise or guarantee someone that something is certain. | To provide financial protection against potential risk or loss. | To make sure or certain that something happens or is true. |
Part of Speech | Verb | Verb | Verb |
Usage | Used to comfort, reassure, or make someone confident. | Typically used in the context of finance, insurance, or protection. | Used to guarantee the outcome or success of an event or action. |
Synonym | Guarantee, confirm, reassure, promise | Cover, protect | Make certain, make sure |
Fill in the blanks with either assure, insure, or ensure to test your understanding!
The instructor ________ students that the online exam would be fair and straightforward.
Assure
We need to ________ the app is user-friendly before release.
Insure
The platform ________ users their data is secure.
Ensure
The company ________ its assets against cyberattacks.
The developer must ________ the website works on all devices.
The startup ________ its intellectual property for protection.
In conclusion, assure refers to giving someone confidence or a promise. Insure relates to providing financial coverage, often through insurance policies. On the other hand, ensure is about making certain that something happens or is achieved. Using these terms correctly ensures precise communication, especially in professional and formal contexts.
Check out our course on “Grokking the Technical Writing Process,” which will provide insights into technical writing, audience analysis, creating coherent paragraphs, iterative improvement, and mastering parts of speech and punctuation for impactful and well-structured communication.
Haven’t found what you were looking for? Contact Us
To enhance technical writing and minimize common grammar mistakes, continue exploring these topics:
Commonly confused words (homophones & similar-sounding words): These words sound alike but have different meanings and spellings.
Prepositions & usage differences: These words and phrases are often confused due to subtle contextual differences.
Punctuation & formatting: These involve rules for using dashes, abbreviations, and sentence structure.
Grammar & sentence structure: These deal with pronoun choices, verb usage, and comparison.
Free Resources