aver

1 of 2

verb

ə-ˈvər 

averred; averring

transitive verb

1

: to declare positively

Mr. Murray avers that many large organizations in the private sector are run by curmudgeons like him …

—Joseph Epstein

2

law

a

: to verify or prove to be true in pleading a cause

b

: to allege or assert in pleading

aiver

2 of 2

noun

ai·​ver

variants or aver

ˈā-vər

plural -s

now chiefly Scottish

: a draft animal

especially : an old workhorse

Did you know?

Since aver contains the "truth" root, it basically means "confirm as true". You may aver anything that you're sure of. In legal situations, aver means to state positively as a fact; thus, Perry Mason's clients aver that they are innocent, while the district attorney avers the opposite. If you make such a statement while under oath, and it turns out that you lied, you may have committed the crime of perjury.

Synonyms of aver

Verb

• insist
• allege
• claim
• assert
• contend
• maintain
• declare

Examples of aver in a Sentence

Verb

He averred that he was innocent.

“I am innocent,” he averred.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Sherman avers that Trackman is the gold standard, for anyone wanting the best software, graphics, user interface and challenge. —Scott Kramer, Forbes.com, 8 May 2026

Plenty of Trump’s most senior appointees have averred that COVID started in a lab. —Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 20 May 2025

That sort of risk-averse mentality hurt the Kings repeatedly in the series, with Doughty and others averring that they were not told to sit back and absorb play late. —Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 5 May 2025

The United States deserves a lot of the blame for the present state of the Middle East, Donald Trump averred in a Tuesday night press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. —Noah Rothman, National Review, 5 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English averren, from Anglo-French averer, from Medieval Latin adverare to confirm as authentic, from Latin ad- + verus true — more at very entry 2

Noun

Middle English aver, aveyr property, goods, from Middle French aver, aveir, from Old French, from aver, aveir to have, from Latin habēre

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

1786, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for aver

• braver
• craver
• favor
• favour
• flavor
• flavour
• graver
• paver
• quaver
• raver
• saver
• savor

Kids Definition

aver

verb

ə-ˈvər 

averred; averring

: to declare positively

Legal Definition

aver

transitive verb

ə-ˈvər 

averred; averring

: to assert or declare positively especially in a pleading : allege

not necessary to aver the capacity of a party to sue

—U.S. Code

averment noun