You searched for: “ascertain”
ascertain (verb), ascertains; ascertained; ascertaining
1. To discover and to determine by means of examination or experimentation: The fire department was unable to ascertain the cause of the fire.
2. To learn or to find out about something; such as, information or the truth: Debora's doctors have been unable to ascertain the cause of her illness.

A great deal of information these days can be ascertained by anyone with a computer.

3. Etymology: from Middle English acertainen, "to inform"; from Anglo-French acerteiner, Old French acertener, "to assure, to certify"; from a-, "to" [from Latin ad] + Latin certus, past participle of cernere, "to determine".
To find out or to learn as a certainty by examination or trial.
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To find an explanation by examination or thinking about it.
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This entry is located in the following unit: cern-, cert-, cer-; cret-, creet-, cre- (page 1)
Word Entries at Get Words: “ascertain”
ascertain, ascertains; ascertained; ascertaining
To discover and to determine by means of examination or experimentation; to learn or to find out about something; such as, getting information or obtaining the truth. (1)
This entry is located in the following unit: Word a Day Revisited Index of Cartoons Illustrating the Meanings of Words (page 15)