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Subject:Re: Ensure or Insure? From:"Dick Margulis " <margulis -at- mail -dot- fiam -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 20 Jun 2002 13:28:53 -0400
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
Tom,
Ensure, insure, and assure can all be stretched to be synonyms, but conventional editing wisdom breaks them down thusly:
Use insure when you are talking (a) about monetary indemnification and (b) about a contractual obligation related to that indemnification. Don't use it elsewhere.
Use assure when you are doing it to a person. (He assured me that ....)
Use ensure for everything else. In your case, I think ensure is the right choice.
By the way, are you talking about shifting fingers in the sense of shifting sands or in the sense of the fingers operating the shift keys?
Dick
>OK, I'll throw this out there and see which term wins...
>
>In the sentence, 'Insure the shifting fingers are oriented...' which would you use? "Insure" or "Ensure"?
>
>
>
>I have conflicting answers. Some say "Insure" others, "Ensure." Some others say either is right...what do you think?
>
>
>
>Tom Green
>
>Tech Writer
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