The people of California became afraid due to the growing number of armed robbery cases in the region. Yesterday, the police chief assured that there would be adequate security in the state. He also ensured that police officers were stationed at strategic places within the city. Additionally, the governor also promised to insure the people against armed robbery by announcing that any money robbed would be fully refunded to victim in cash.
The three words, assure, ensure and insure are quite similar in meaning which might confuse you while trying to pick the right one for your sentence(s). While they are all used when trying to make people feel safe, they have specific meanings that distinguish them from each other. Assure can be used when trying to tell someone that he is safe. The word ensure refers to adopting remedies or taking actions that make people safe. To insure means covering up for any loss people may have experienced, especially when some potential danger is involved. You can often use assure and ensure interchangeably. For example, the phrase ‘I will ensure that you remain safe,’ can be replaced with the phrase ‘I am assuring you that you would be safe.’ If you look closely, you will notice that their meanings have changed only slightly. If you want to learn how to use these words properly in your sentences then this article is for you.
Assure vs ensure vs insure – definitions, meanings and example sentences.
Definition of assure
The word assure is a verb; it is pronounced as ‘ah-shur.’ It means to tell somebody confidently that something is true, especially so that he does not worry. It can be used to mean a promise, a guarantee or giving somebody your word. It originated from the French word ‘assurer’ which means to calm. Other forms of the word assure include assures, assuring and assured which are all verbs, and assurance which is a noun. It is synonymous with words like cheer, comfort, console, soothe etc.
Example sentences of assure
- My chemotherapist assured me that I can still fight and should reconsider treatment.
A man describes the moral support his chemotherapist gave him. Even though he had given up the treatment, his therapist recommended continuing chemotherapy since his body was young and could potentially recover from the disease.
- My makeup artist assured me that I would look great at my upcoming birthday party as long as I keep using the acne ointment every day.
A young woman was about to have her birthday party but she was afraid that she would not look her best since she was having a rare skin rash due to excessive acne. So her makeup artist who was also a skincare professional tried to comfort her by telling her that she was going to look fine if she used her skin medication regularly.
- The doctor assured the old man that he would be fine eventually, even though his condition was slowly getting worse.
From this sentence, we can see that the old man was sick but since the doctor didn’t want to aggravate his condition, he told him (assured him) that he would be fine.
Definition of ensure
Ensure is a verb and is pronounced as ‘en-shoor.’ To ensure means to make sure that something happens or doesn’t happen, especially by taking some kind of action. It also means to guarantee something. Other verb forms of it include ensures, ensuring and ensured. It is synonymous with words like guarantee, secure, cinch etc. It was formed from the French word ‘enseurer,’ which means to make sure.
Example sentences of ensure
- The mayor announced that he would be upgrading a normal park into an amusement park. In this regard, the press questioned him if he could ensure the safety of the animals living there.
Wildlife security is a genuine public concern, hence, when the mayor announced that he would be upgrading a conventional park into a modern amusement park, the press questioned his initiative by asking if the wild animals inhabited there would be kept safe.
- When kidnappers broke into the house, the cunning brother helped his crawling sister get inside the room and double locked it to ensure that the kidnappers don’t get in. Afterword he also dialed 911 and alarmed the police.
This sentence narrates how a school boy helped keep himself and his little sister stay safe during a potential kidnapping attempt. He locked himself and his sister up inside a room and also called the police on time to ensure their safety.
- Abraham is reading hard to ensure that he aces the upcoming exam.
By reading hard, Abraham is taking action (ensuring) to make sure that he passes his examination with flying grades.
Definition of insure
Insure is a verb which is pronounced as ‘in-shoor.’ To insure means to guarantee against any form of harm, damage or loss, especially through compensation. Losses that demand such compensation may include loss of lives, injury, and damage of property. Here’s the history of how it took its modern form. The word’s first form was ‘insuren,’ a modified spelling of ‘ensuren.’ Other words from insure include insures, insuring and insured which are all verbs. Insurability and insurance are both nouns. Insurable is an adjective. It is synonymous with words like warrant, safe, cover, hedge, guarantee etc.
Example sentences of insure
- Betty Grable, a star from the 1940’s got her legs insured for one million dollars.
Betty Grable got her legs insured for a million dollar back in the 40’s. This amount isn’t any ordinary amount; it’s quite large because at that time a person could get a Ford station wagon for around $2,000.
- Life insurance is a contract that is formed between an employee and an insurer. When the employee dies, the insurer has to pay a fixed amount of money to the selected beneficiaries which is actually the sum paid by the policy holder during his lifetime.
This sentence describes how life insurance works. An insurer (like an insurance company) and a policy holder sign a contract. After the policy holder dies, the company is obligated to pay a fixed amount of money to the beneficiaries of the policyholder. This sum of money is actually the amount that was paid in the form of premiums by the policy holder while he was still alive.
- He advised his pal, ‘You’ve brought a valuable new car, you should probably get it insured quickly.’
Someone is advising their friend to get their valuable car insured against damage as soon as possible.
We hope you have fully understood these three words. Here’s the conclusion. Assure means to tell people they’re safe. Ensure means making sure it goes that way. And insure means safeguarding financially. If you would like to memorize them, then here’s a helpful tip. Remember that assure is verbal support, ensure is practical support and insure is financial support.
