What does sure mean?

What does sure mean?. The world's largest and most trusted free online dictionary: definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more.

What does sure mean? - The Free Dictionary

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[a] having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured(felt certain of success was sure (or certain) she had seen it was very sure in his beliefs sure of her friends)[r] definitely or positively (`sure' is sometimes used informally for `surely')(the results are surely encoura

sure

sure - The Free Dictionary

[a] having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
(felt certain of success was sure (or certain) she had seen it was very sure in his beliefs sure of her friends)

[r] definitely or positively (`sure' is sometimes used informally for `surely')
(the results are surely encouraging she certainly is a hard worker it's going to be a good day for sure they are coming, for certain they thought he had been killed sure enough he'll win sure as shooting they sure smell good sure he'll come)

[a] exercising or taking care great enough to bring assurance
(be certain to disconnect the iron when you are through be sure to lock the doors)

[a] certain to occur; destined or inevitable
(he was certain to fail his fate is certain In this life nothing is certain but death and taxes he faced certain death sudden but sure regret he is sure to win)

[a] physically secure or dependable
(a sure footing was on sure ground)

[a] reliable in operation or effect
(a quick and certain remedy a sure way to distinguish the two wood dust is a sure sign of termites)

[a] (of persons) worthy of trust or confidence
(a sure (or trusted) friend)

[a] infallible or unfailing
(a sure (or true) sign of one's commitment)

[a] certain not to fail
(a sure hand on the throttle)

[a] impossible to doubt or dispute
(indisputable (or sure) proof)

Other vocabulary

's gravenhage, s, s wrench, s-shape, s-shaped, s. s. van dine, s. smith stevens, s.t.p., s.u.v., s/n, sa, sa node, saale, saale glaciation, saale river, saame, saami, saarinen, saba, sabah, sabahan, sabal, sabal palmetto, sabaoth, sabaton, sabayon, sabbat, sabbatarian, sabbath, sabbath school, u, u-boat, u-drive, u-shaped, u-turn, u. s. air force, u. s. army, u. s. army special forces, u. s. coast guard, u. s. code, u.k., u.s., u.s. army criminal investigation laboratory, u.s. congress, u.s. constitution, u.s. government, u.s. house, u.s. house of representatives, u.s. mint, u.s. national library of medicine, u.s. senate, u.s. waters, u.s.a., u308, uakari, ubermensch, ubiety, ubiquinone, ubiquitous, ubiquitousness

Dictionary

A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, pronunciations, translation, etc. It is a lexicographical reference that shows inter-relationships among the data.

A broad distinction is made between general and specialized dictionaries. Specialized dictionaries include words in specialist fields, rather than a complete range of words in the language. Lexical items that describe concepts in specific fields are usually called terms instead of words, although there is no consensus whether lexicology and terminology are two different fields of study. In theory, general dictionaries are supposed[citation needed] to be semasiological, mapping word to definition, while specialized dictionaries are supposed to be onomasiological, first identifying concepts and then establishing the terms used to designate them. In practice, the two approaches are used for both types. There are other types of dictionaries that do not fit neatly into the above distinction, for instance bilingual (translation) dictionaries, dictionaries of synonyms (thesauri), and rhyming dictionaries. The word dictionary (unqualified) is usually understood to refer to a general purpose monolingual dictionary.

There is also a contrast between prescriptive or descriptive dictionaries; the former reflect what is seen as correct use of the language while the latter reflect recorded actual use. Stylistic indications (e.g. "informal" or "vulgar") in many modern dictionaries are also considered by some to be less than objectively descriptive.

The first recorded dictionaries date back to Sumerian times around 2300 BCE, in the form of bilingual dictionaries, and the oldest surviving monolingual dictionaries are Chinese dictionaries c. 3rd century BCE. The first purely English alphabetical dictionary was A Table Alphabeticall, written in 1604, and monolingual dictionaries in other languages also began appearing in Europe at around this time. The systematic study of dictionaries as objects of scientific interest arose as a 20th-century enterprise, called lexicography, and largely initiated by Ladislav Zgusta. The birth of the new discipline was not without controversy, with the practical dictionary-makers being sometimes accused by others of having an "astonishing" lack of method and critical-self reflection.