What does ascertaining mean?
To be ascertaining something is to be actively engaged in establishing it beyond doubt — determining a fact through careful inquiry, evidence-gathering, or systematic examination rather than relying on assumption or hearsay. The word is the present participle and gerund form of the verb 'ascertain,' which entered English in the early seventeenth century from Old French 'acertainer,' meaning 'to make certain.' Because of its precision and formality, 'ascertaining' is a fixture of professional registers: lawyers speak of ascertaining liability, physicians of ascertaining a diagnosis's cause, auditors of ascertaining financial figures, and scientists of ascertaining results before publishing them. It typically appears with an object — ascertaining the truth, ascertaining whether a condition holds, ascertaining someone's intentions — and carries connotations of rigor and diligence. In everyday conversation it sounds stiff next to plain alternatives like 'checking' or 'finding out,' but in contexts where accuracy matters, it signals exactly that: nothing is being taken on trust.
verb (present participle of ascertain)The act of finding something out for certain; discovering or establishing a fact through deliberate inquiry or investigation.
- To find out or establish with certainty, especially through investigation, inquiry, or examination.
"The auditors spent weeks ascertaining exactly how much money had gone missing from the account."
"Detectives worked through the night, ascertaining the whereabouts of every witness on the list."
"Before signing the lease, she insisted on ascertaining that the building had no history of flooding."
Before you can 'make certain' of anything, you first have to ascertain it — and this word has been helping English speakers do exactly that since the early 1600s.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ascertaining
The verb 'ascertain' derives from Old French 'acertainer,' formed from the prefix 'a-' plus 'certain,' ultimately rooted in Latin 'certus' meaning 'fixed, settled, sure.' It was adopted into English in the early seventeenth century, initially carrying senses such as 'to make certain' or 'to assure oneself of a fact,' which gradually narrowed to its modern sense of discovering or establishing truth through investigation. Its cognates include the English words 'certainty,' 'certify,' and 'certitude,' all descendants of the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How ascertaining is actually used
Formal in register; common in legal, scientific, medical, and journalistic writing. Rarely used in casual conversation, where speakers prefer simpler phrases like 'finding out' or 'checking.' Often followed by 'whether,' 'that,' or a noun phrase describing what is being established.
Easily confused with ascertaining
Asserting means confidently stating or claiming something, while ascertaining means verifying or discovering it to be true.