assert
as•sert (ə sʉrt´) vt.
[[< L assertus, pp. of asserere, to join to, claim < ad-, to + serere, join: see SERIES ]]
1 to state positively; declare; affirm
2 to maintain or defend (rights, claims, etc.)
–assert oneself to insist on one’s rights, or on being recognized
–as•sert'er n.
–as•ser'tor
SYN.
– to assert is to state positively with great confidence but with no objective proof [she asserted that human nature would never change]; to declare is to assert openly or formally, often in the face of opposition [they declared their independence]; affirm implies deep conviction in one’s statement and the unlikelihood of denial by another [I cannot affirm that she was there]; aver connotes implicit confidence in the truth of one’s statement from one’s own knowledge of the matter; avouch implies firsthand knowledge or authority on the part of the speaker; warrant, in this comparison, is informal, and implies positiveness by the speaker [I warrant he’ll be late again]
–ANT. deny, controvert
