ensure, insure, and assure are interchangeable in many contexts where they indicate the making certain or inevitable of an outcome, but ensure may imply a virtual guarantee
the government has ensured the safety of the refugees
, while insure sometimes stresses the taking of necessary measures beforehand
careful planning should insure the success of the party
, and assure distinctively implies the removal of doubt and suspense from a person's mind.
I assure you that no harm will be done
secure implies action taken to guard against attack or loss.
sent reinforcements to secure their position
Example Sentences
Adjective We need to make our network more secure against attacks by hackers. The children were safe and secure in their beds. A safe is provided to keep your valuables secure from potential thieves. You should store your valuables in a secure place. How secure is your front door? You are now entering a secure area. I'm feeling secure about my place in the company. The company has established a secure foothold in the market. He believes his job is secure. They didn't begin to celebrate until they knew their victory was secure. Verb We must secure the country's borders. Secure your belongings under the seat.secure a child safety seat The seat is secured to the base by three screws. She scored a goal to secure the team's victory. She secured the zoo's future with a handsome bequest. He secured a loan using his house as collateral. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Ritter, for his part, also confirmed that the state funding was still secure. Ted Glanzer, Hartford Courant, 15 Sep. 2022 The pair sued in April, repeating unfounded allegations that vote-counting machines are not secure. Arizona Republic, The Arizona Republic, 15 Sep. 2022 The campus was secure, even as investigators including representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, remained on the scene late into the night. Matt Yan And, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Sep. 2022 Colon declined to provide additional details at a news conference, citing the investigation, but said the scene was secure. Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 14 Sep. 2022 Todd pushed back against Harris’ claim about the border being secure. Jessica Chasmar, Fox News, 12 Sep. 2022 Add the fact that SMS texts aren’t secure, and the billions of SMS messages sent every day in the U.S. alone causes concern about privacy more than features. Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 12 Sep. 2022 In 1998, Zatko appeared before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee as part of a panel of ethical hackers who urgently told Congress that the technology used to access the internet was not secure. Clare Duffy, CNN, 12 Sep. 2022 As part of its mission, the data team will define the requirements of the data platform, including how to scale the platform in a secure and responsible way. Ram Venkatesh, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022
Verb
The two Republican governors have continuously criticized Biden and Democratic lawmakers for failing to secure the southern border and leaving border states to fend for themselves in managing the ongoing immigration crisis. Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 16 Sep. 2022 Volunteers have spent the past three weeks helping to secure and move the documents left behind, and local business leaders have offered storage space and moving equipment. Casey Parks, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2022 An 8-year-old child that won't get a chance to be a news reporter, police chief, or anyone else because of a tragic circumstance involving adults who didn't think enough to secure a weapon and leave two kids at home with it. Andrea May Sahouri, Detroit Free Press, 13 Sep. 2022 The installation process is similar to that of any other window air conditioning unit—simply slide open your single-hung window, secure the unit into the window with screws, and plug the cord into the nearest outlet. Ana Escalante, Glamour, 8 Sep. 2022 That is raising the prices that pork processors pay to secure livestock and weighing on their bottom lines. Patrick Thomas, WSJ, 6 Sep. 2022 Sometime in the eighth to ninth centuries, Solomon’s descendant King Hezekiah had a channel cut into the rock under the City of David to secure water supply to the Temple and surrounding inhabitants in case of an enemy invasion. Marion Fischel, Sun Sentinel, 1 Sep. 2022 In the meantime, health experts urge parents to secure their electronics and prevent children from accessing batteries. Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2022 China's ruling Communist Party will hold its five-yearly congress beginning on October 16, with Xi Jinping poised to secure an historic third leadership term and cement his place as the country's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. Reuters, CNN, 30 Aug. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Latin securus safe, secure, from se without + cura care — more at suicide