ascertain
Usage
What are other ways to say ascertain?
To ascertain is to verify facts by inquiry or analysis: to ascertain the truth about an event. To learn is to add to one's knowledge or information: to learn a language. The verb discover is used with objective clauses as a synonym of learn in order to suggest that the new information acquired is surprising to the learner: I discovered that she had been married before. To detect implies becoming aware of something that had been obscure, secret, or concealed: to detect a flaw in reasoning.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Officials said they are also in communication with authorities to ascertain the cause of death, obtain the complete medical record and review the circumstances surrounding the death.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026
Investors are becoming increasingly nervous about problems mounting in the $3 trillion private credit market where some creditworthiness is deteriorating in some sectors and truthful valuations are hard to ascertain.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
"Kavanagh took his time and used all his experience to rightly ascertain that contact continued inside the penalty area and awarded a penalty kick," he added.
From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026
Though not as rare as having a gold medal, becoming a single father via surrogacy is a pretty select distinction—so select, in fact, that it’s hard to ascertain the exact numbers.
From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026
And as regards the question of left-handedness, ought we not to take steps to ascertain which of the passengers is left-handed?”
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
