to state with assurance, confidence, or force; state strongly or positively; affirm; aver:
He asserted his innocence of the crime.
2.
to maintain or defend (claims, rights, etc.).
3.
to state as having existence; affirm; postulate:
to assert a first cause as necessary.
Idioms
4.
assert oneself, to insist on one's rights, declare one's views forcefully, etc.:
The candidate finally asserted himself about property taxes.
Origin
1595-1605; < Latinassertus joined to, defended, claimed (past participle of asserere), equivalent to as-as- + ser- (see series) + -tus past participle suffix
Related forms
asserter, assertor, noun
assertible, adjective
misassert, verb (used with object)
overassert, verb (used with object)
preassert, verb (used with object)
reassert, verb (used with object)
Synonyms
1. asseverate, avow, maintain. See declare. 2. uphold, support. See maintain.
Antonyms
1. deny.
Examples from the web for assert
Yet, it will not be as potent if the attorney is diligent in asserting his client's defenses and objections.
Undocumented workers are easy prey for exploitation and unable to assert their rights.
Reports began to hint, then baldly assert, that technology caused the violence.
Between the ages of six months and a year, a child's natural preference begins to assert itself.
I've never experienced it personally but I would be foolish to assert that it never happens.
They assert the congressional report is off-base.
Some assert that merely bolstering campus security misses the point.
Writers not familiar with the literature often make assumptions about it and confidently assert them.
There are those who assert that the sense of smell in a cat is not highly developed.
For this reason I assert that the robot perceives more accurately than man.
British Dictionary definitions for assert
assert
/əˈsɜːt/
verb (transitive)
1.
to insist upon (rights, claims, etc)
2.
(may take a clause as object) to state to be true; declare categorically
3.
to put (oneself) forward in an insistent manner
Derived Forms
asserter, assertor, noun assertible, adjective
Word Origin
C17: from Latin asserere to join to oneself, from serere to join
Word Origin and History for assert
v.
c.1600, "declare," from Latin assertus, past participle of asserere "claim, maintain, affirm" (see assertion). Related: Asserted; asserting. To assert oneself "stand up for one's rights" is recorded from 1879.