Other forms: assurances
An assurance is a promise made to settle a doubt. The mechanic's assurance that the car is safe to drive; a written assurance from the landlord that the boiler will be fixed by Friday.
It nearly always takes THAT or OF: an assurance that the work will be finished, an assurance of support. The verb behind it is assure — you assure someone that something is true, or assure them of your help. The second sense describes the speaker rather than the promise: a person who talks with assurance sounds calm and certain, and self-assurance is quiet confidence. Two fixed uses are worth knowing: quality assurance is the work of checking that a product meets the standard, and in British English life assurance is the policy that pays out when someone dies. Keep assurance and insurance apart, and watch the verbs behind them — assure a person, ensure a result, insure a car.
1nounassuranceA promise or firm statement made to remove someone's doubt.
“He gave an assurance that the money would be repaid by June.”
formal in this meaning — an editor’s judgement
2nounconfidenceCalm confidence in yourself and in what you are doing.
“She answered every question with the assurance of someone who had done it before.”
formal in this meaning — an editor’s judgement
synonyms: confidence, poise
3nounlife(British) life insurance; a policy that pays out when the holder dies.
“The policy was sold as life assurance rather than as savings.”
assurance is a promise.
Assurance came into Middle English as assuraunce from Old French asseurance, built on the verb asseurer. English took the whole word rather than making it, but the parts still show through: assure plus the ending -ance, the act of assuring someone.
Old French
asseurance
Middle English
assuraunce
English, today
assurance
From Middle English assuraunce, from Old French asseurance, from asseurer; as if assure + ance.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA