Ascertaining

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of uncovering or validating facts about a situation involves thorough examination and critical assessment of information
2. The process of finding out or confirming information through careful investigation
3. The act of making sure about something by examining evidence or details thoroughly

Etymology: "Ascertaining" is the present participle of "ascertain", and the verb carries a small paradox in its make-up: it contains the same root as "certain", yet it means to make certain rather than to be certain. The "a-" at the front meant "to" or "towards", so the verb began as a way of moving something toward a state of certainty, and in Old French "acertener" kept that sense of making sure of a fact. The main line runs from Latin "certus", meaning "certain" or "fixed", through the Old French adjective "certain" and the verb "acertener". English took the verb in the Middle English period as "acerteynen", and the spelling and stress shifted over the following centuries until it reached its modern form. The same root sits behind Spanish "acertar", which points to a shared inheritance across the two languages, though its meaning there has drifted toward hitting a target or getting something right.

Synonyms: determining, discovering, establishing, finding out

Antonyms: overlooking, ignoring, disregarding