ascertain

verb

as·​cer·​tain ˌa-sər-ˈtān 

ascertained; ascertaining; ascertains

transitive verb

1

: to find out or learn with certainty

ascertain the truth

trying to ascertain the cause of the fire

information that can be easily ascertained on the Internet

2

archaic : to make certain, exact, or precise

ascertainable

ˌa-sər-ˈtā-nə-bəl 

adjective

ascertainment

ˌa-sər-ˈtān-mənt 

noun

Synonyms

• catch on (to)
• discover
• find out
• get on (to)
• hear
• learn
• realize
• see
• wise (up)

Choose the Right Synonym for ascertain

discover, ascertain, determine, unearth, learn mean to find out what one did not previously know.

discover may apply to something requiring exploration or investigation or to a chance encounter.

discovered the source of the river

ascertain implies effort to find the facts or the truth proceeding from awareness of ignorance or uncertainty.

attempts to ascertain the population of the region

determine emphasizes the intent to establish the facts definitely or precisely.

unable to determine the origin of the word

unearth implies bringing to light something forgotten or hidden.

unearth old records

learn may imply acquiring knowledge with little effort or conscious intention (as by simply being told) or it may imply study and practice.

I learned her name only today

learning Greek

Examples of ascertain in a Sentence

We look at digital media—images, audio and video—and we try to ascertain whether or not they've been manipulated. We use mathematical and computational techniques to detect alterations in them. —Claudia Dreifus, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2007

Currently, an official trying to ascertain road damage in the aftermath of an earthquake might have to keep one eye on the TV news while listening to both radio traffic reports and the police scanner. Since most of these data are available in digital form, the software could take them all in, process them and present a report outlining the best evacuation routes. —Kevin Hogan, Technology Review, April 2002

With an equation linking the money wage to prices, the degree of inflation could be ascertained. —Sidney Weintraub, Modern Economic Thought, (1977) 1993

Recent Examples on the Web

According to the official, the Chinese hackers breached systems used by U.S. intelligence to conduct wiretaps, and both government agencies and the affected private companies are trying to ascertain what information, if any, the malign actors were able to collect. —Andres Triay, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2024

And then Machado threw his own ball in the direction of Dodger manager Dave Roberts, which has now become the baseball equivalent of the Zapruder film, as pundits attempt to ascertain the third baseman’s intent. —Dan Freedman, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024

The news follows reports that the late Los Angeles rapper’s family have hired a team of investigators to ascertain if the Bad Boy Entertainment founder had any involvement in his death. —Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2024

By combining each family tree with rare fossils of fungi and ants, respectively, the scientists were able to ascertain how long ago the ants and fungi branched into the families and species alive today. —Kate Golembiewski, CNN, 4 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English acertainen to inform, give assurance to, from Anglo-French acerteiner, from a- (from Latin ad-) + certein, certain certain

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

ascertain

verb

as·​cer·​tain ˌas-ər-ˈtān 

: to learn with certainty : find out

could not ascertain the correct date

ascertainable

-ˈtā-nə-bəl 

adjective

ascertainment

-ˈtān-mənt 

noun