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Understanding the difference between commonly confused words will help you avoid making errors in English usage. Let’s examine the difference between the following:
These three words all carry the sense of “to make sure or certain,” and there is some overlap between them. In general, however, we assure people, we ensure that things happen, and we insure ourselves and things financially.
assure
Assure means to relieve someone of doubt, to set their mind at rest, to give them confidence, or to reassure them about something. In British English, assure is also used to mean to insure against financial loss, as in life assurance.
Tony assured his friend that he would be at the theatre on time.
ensure
Ensure is the general term that means to make certain that something will or won’t happen. In both American and British English, ensure is never used in place of insure to refer to underwriting financial risk.
Small businesses should ensure that they keep good records for tax purposes.insure
Insure primarily means to arrange for financial compensation in the event of loss, damage, or injury. In American English, insure is sometimes used interchangeably with ensure to mean to make sure or certain, but in best usage, insure is restricted to refer to underwriting against financial loss.
When buying a home, it's crucial to insure it.
To recap: we assure people so they won’t worry; we ensure that events take place; and we insure possessions or our lives financially.
To encapsulate the preferred usages of each word in one sentence:
Kelly assured her fiancé that she had ensured that her diamond engagement ring was insured for its full value.
Photo credits:
Photo 1: Photo by Alex Green from Pexels
Photos 2: Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels
Photo 3: Image by StockSnap from Pixabay