1. To affirm; to announce with assurance, or plainly and strongly; to state positively; to aver; to asseverate. "Nothing is more shameful . . . Than to
assert anything to be done
without a cause." (Ray)
2. To sustain; to defend. "That . . . I may
assert Eternal Providence, And
justify the ways of God to men." (Milton) "I
will assert it from the scandal." (Jer. Taylor)
3. To sustain or defend, as a
reason or a claim, by words or measures; to
vindicate a claim or
title to; as, to
assert our rights and liberties. To
assert one's self, to claim or
vindicate one's rights or position; to
demand recognition.
Synonym: To affirm, aver, asseverate, sustain, protest, pronounce, announce, vindicate.
To Assert, Affirm, Sustain, Vindicate. To
assert is to
fasten to one's self, and hence to claim. It is, therefore, adversative in its character. We
assert our rights and privileges, or the
reason of
wood institutions, as against
opposition or denial. To affirm is to announce as true. We
assert boldly; we affirm positively. To sustain is to uphold, and insist
upon with earnestness, whatever we have
once asserted; as, to sustain one's reason, to sustain an argument, to sustain the
ground we have taken. To
vindicate is to
use language and measures of the strongest kind, in
defense of ourselves and those for whom we act. We sustain our assertions by adducing proofs, facts, or arguments; we are
ready to
vindicate our rights or interests by the
utmost exertion of our powers.
Origin: L. Assertus, p. P. Of asserere to
join or
fasten to one's self, claim, sustain; ad + serere to
join or
bind together. See Series.
Source: Websters Vocabulary