sure
[ shoo r, shur ]
/ ʃʊər, ʃɜr /
adjective, sur·er, sur·est.
adverb
Informal.
certainly; surely: It sure is cold out. Sure, I'll come.
Idioms for sure
Origin of sure
SYNONYMS FOR sure
1
Sure,
certain,
confident,
positive indicate full belief and trust that something is true.
Sure,
certain, and
positive are often used interchangeably.
Sure, the simplest and most general, expresses mere absence of doubt.
Certain suggests that there are definite reasons that have freed one from doubt.
Confident emphasizes the strength of the belief or the certainty of expectation felt.
Positive implies emphatic certainty, which may even become overconfidence or dogmatism.
usage note for sure
Both
sure and
surely are used as intensifying adverbs with the sense “undoubtedly, certainly.” In this use,
sure is generally informal and occurs mainly in speech and written representations of speech:
She sure dazzled the audience with her acceptance speech. It was sure hot enough in the auditorium.
Surely is used in this sense in all varieties of speech and writing, even the most formal:
The court ruled that the law was surely meant to apply to both profit-making and nonprofit organizations. See also
quick,
slow.
OTHER WORDS FROM sure
Words nearby sure
British Dictionary definitions for to be sure
sure
/ (ʃʊə, ʃɔː) /
adjective
adverb
(sentence substitute) informal
willingly; yes
(sentence modifier) informal, mainly US and Canadian
without question; certainly
Derived forms of sure
sureness, nounWord Origin for sure
C14: from Old French
seur, from Latin
sēcūrus
secure
Idioms and Phrases with to be sure (1 of 2)
to be sure
Undoubtedly, certainly, of course, as in The coat is expensive, to be sure, but it's bound to last longer than a cheap one. This idiom was first recorded in 1657.
Idioms and Phrases with to be sure (2 of 2)
sure