| English Dictionary |
SURE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does sure mean?
• SURE (adjective)
The adjective SURE has 9 senses:
1. having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
2. exercising or taking care great enough to bring assurance
3. certain to occur; destined or inevitable
4. physically secure or dependable
5. reliable in operation or effect
6. (of persons) worthy of trust or confidence
7. infallible or unfailing
8. certain not to fail
9. impossible to doubt or dispute
Familiarity information: SURE used as an adjective is familiar.
• SURE (adverb)
The adverb SURE has 1 sense:
1. definitely or positively ('sure' is sometimes used informally for 'surely')
Familiarity information: SURE used as an adverb is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: surest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
Synonyms:
certain; sure
Context example:
sure of her friends
Similar:
confident; convinced; positive (persuaded of; very sure)
Attribute:
certainty (the state of being certain)
assurance; authority; confidence; self-assurance; self-confidence; sureness (freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities)
Antonym:
unsure (lacking or indicating lack of confidence or assurance)
Derivation:
sureness (freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Exercising or taking care great enough to bring assurance
Synonyms:
certain; sure
Context example:
be sure to lock the doors
Similar:
careful (exercising caution or showing care or attention)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Certain to occur; destined or inevitable
Synonyms:
certain; sure
Context example:
he is sure to win
Similar:
bound; destined ((usually followed by 'to') governed by fate)
doomed; fated ((usually followed by 'to') determined by tragic fate)
foreordained; predestinate; predestined (established or prearranged unalterably)
in for (certain to get or have)
Also:
predictable (capable of being foretold)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Physically secure or dependable
Context example:
was on sure ground
Similar:
secure (free from danger or risk)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Reliable in operation or effect
Synonyms:
certain; sure
Context example:
wood dust is a sure sign of termites
Similar:
dependable; reliable (worthy of reliance or trust)
Sense 6
Meaning:
(of persons) worthy of trust or confidence
Synonyms:
sure; trusted
Context example:
a sure (or trusted) friend
Similar:
trustworthy; trusty (worthy of trust or belief)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Infallible or unfailing
Context example:
a sure (or true) sign of one's commitment
Similar:
true (consistent with fact or reality; not false)
Derivation:
sureness (freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Certain not to fail
Context example:
a sure hand on the throttle
Similar:
steady (not subject to change or variation especially in behavior)
Derivation:
sureness (the quality of being steady and unfailing)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Impossible to doubt or dispute
Synonyms:
indisputable; sure
Context example:
indisputable (or sure) proof
Similar:
certain (established beyond doubt or question; definitely known)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Definitely or positively ('sure' is sometimes used informally for 'surely')
Synonyms:
certainly; for certain; for sure; sure; sure as shooting; sure enough; surely
Context example:
sure he'll come
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Context examples
Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure!
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
She would like advice, but is not sure that the matter is not too delicate for communication.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Sure, an' I couldn't iv done better meself, Hans, if it'd been for you.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
To make sure, I returned and went through the steerage and forecastle, and in the galley gathered up all the sharp meat and vegetable knives.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Now I shall learn something pleasant, I am sure; for it will tell me the other side of a true love episode of which I know one side already....
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Well, I am sure Moran was at the bottom of it, but nothing could be proved.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
One thing only I am sure of, and that is that he had some weapon in his hand.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
"How did it happen? I am sure it must have been some adventure."
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
He brought the flowers himself, and I should have asked him in, if I had been sure what was going on upstairs.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
We filled in the time by opening one of our food tins and making sure of our breakfast.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"It is more becoming to have a large nose than two small ones" (Breton proverb)
"While the word is yet unspoken, you are master of it; when once it is spoken, it is master of you." (Arabic proverb)
"Barking dogs don't bite." (Dutch proverb)