Assuring

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Instilling confidence and removing uncertainty for others while offering comfort that addresses insecurities and promoting a sense of trust and support for their emotional well-being
2. Providing a sense of certainty and comfort that diminishes feelings of anxiety and insecurity while fostering trust and support in others’ emotional states
3. Conveying certainty to ease doubts and make others feel secure

Etymology: "Assuring" is the present participle of "assure," which came into English from Old French "asseurer" (now "assurer"), itself built from Latin "ad-" meaning "to" and "securus," meaning "secure." The Latin root is literally "without care," from "se-" (apart) and "cura" (care), so the word's deepest sense is freedom from worry. English speakers thus borrowed a word whose core idea is making someone safe from anxiety. The adjective grew from that same root. Its meaning has shifted slightly over time: "assure" once meant to make something certain or to pledge it, and by the nineteenth century the emotional sense of soothing a worried person had become dominant. The adjective's use in describing news or statements that calm fears shows how the word moved from securing a promise to securing a listener's mind.

Synonyms: confident, reassuring, certain

Antonyms: doubting, insecure