Ensured

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Made something definite or guaranteed to happen or be true
2. Took steps to confirm or secure a particular result or outcome
3. Acted to assure that a condition or event would occur or be maintained

Etymology: "Ensured" is the past form of "ensure", and the verb has an interesting split personality in English. It comes from Middle English "ensuren", which passed through Anglo-Norman "enseurer" from Old French "seur", meaning "sure" or "certain". So at its core, to ensure something is to make it sure, which is exactly the sense it carries today: to make an outcome certain or guaranteed. The most surprising twist is that "ensure" has a twin. "Insure" descends from the same Old French root, and the two were once interchangeable. Over time English split them, with "insure" taking on the financial sense of guaranteeing against loss, while "ensure" kept the broader meaning of making something certain. English speakers still sometimes mix them up, which is a reminder that the two were once a single word.

Synonyms: secured, guaranteed, confirmed, assured, certified

Antonyms: jeopardized, undermined, negated, compromised, risked