# assertion

Pronunciation: say "uh-SUR-shuhn" US /əˈsɜɹʃən/, UK /əˈsɜːʃən/

## Noun

1. A declaration or statement that someone puts forward as true.
   - Simple: A statement that someone puts forward as being true.
   - _The committee examined each assertion in the report before signing off._
   - _His confident assertion that profits would double went unchallenged._
2. The act of declaring something positively and firmly; a confident statement of what one holds to be true.
   - Simple: The act of saying firmly that something is true.
   - _The witness's firm assertion left no doubt about her account._
   - _Repeated, forceful assertion eventually won the room over._
3. A statement or declaration put forward as true but offered without support or evidence.
   - Simple: A statement said to be true but given without any proof.
   - _The reviewer dismissed the paper's central assertion as unsupported speculation._
   - _Calling it a fact doesn't help; it remains an assertion until you prove it._
4. A statement in a program that checks whether a condition is true at a given point, used to find bugs.
   - Simple: A line in a computer program that checks whether something is true while finding bugs.
   - _Each assertion in the test suite verifies that the function returns the expected value._
   - _The developer placed an assertion before the loop to guarantee the index stayed in range._
5. The defending or upholding of a right, claim, or position; the vindication of something one is entitled to.
   - Simple: The act of defending or standing up for a right, claim, or belief.
   - _The colony's assertion of self-rule put it on a collision course with the crown._
   - _Quiet but firm, his assertion of authority kept the team in line._
6. The set of claims that the preparer of a financial statement makes about it, which auditors examine during an audit.
   - Simple: Information that the people who prepare a financial report claim is true, checked during an audit.
   - _The audit team tested management's assertion that all recorded sales actually occurred._
   - _Each assertion in the balance sheet must be backed by reliable evidence._

## Origin

This word came from Middle French "assertion," which came from the Latin "assertio."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/assertion (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).