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.
See Examples For:
“We are working to ascertain his identity and the motivations.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
Without further information, it is impossible to ascertain their validity.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Technological limitations make it impossible to ascertain precisely where Misiorowski ranks in the pantheon of baseball’s great fastball artists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
That’s what “I Shot Andy Warhol” wants the viewer to ascertain.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
All that had to be done was to ascertain which!
From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
Henry plays it safe: He ascertains John is gay so shares his chapters via mail.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 29, 2022
On the other hand, logical analysis ascertains whether the premises of an argument support the conclusion.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022
“Insikt Group ascertains with high confidence that the top tools on underground forums will continue to change,” the report said.
From Fox News ● Jul. 27, 2019
“The court looks at the impact and the motivation - if it is an ethical violation, if it is an administrative violation - and then ascertains if the punishment fits the crime,” Grevemberg said.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 2, 2018
The chairman regulates the proceedings of the Board, and ascertains its resolutions.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 373, November 1846 by Various
The researchers also assessed severity of CTE and found a connection between high grade CTE and dementia before death, with the latter ascertained by the players' medical notes and interviews with family members.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
A third person whose injuries had yet to be ascertained was in the process of being brought to hospital.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Mr Lawson said the pioneering work had even ascertained where the people, who were buried between the 12th Century and 1560, were born.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2025
Both Prieur and Mafart had been involved in planning the operation back in Paris—it was Prieur who had first ascertained the ship’s itinerary by calling Lloyd’s of London and posing as a journalist.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
On inquiring further, I ascertained that the house had been a very small one in which he had been the only full-time employee.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
The export control amounts to a de facto ban on the model since Anthropic has no way of ascertaining the nationality of its users.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
The 1967 Public Health Act already allows for officers to enter "any premises' at all" for the purpose of "ascertaining whether there is, or has been" any breach of the rules.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2024
Her petition said they are still ascertaining the assets to be identified as separate and community property.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2024
"Studying isolated enzymes is a powerful tool for ascertaining their activity and drawing conclusions about their functional role inside the plant cell," Hart explained.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024
Researchers must reckon their ages by ascertaining the age of the ground they are found in, which in turn requires meticulously documenting their provenance.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Vocabulary lists containing ascertain
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