Search the Dictionary

A striking or paradoxical assertion; an obscure saying; an enigma; a parable. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. John xvi. 29.

hdraw; to recall; to disavow; to recant; to take back; as, to retract an accusation or an assertion. I would as freely have retracted this charge of idolatry as I ever made it. Bp. Stillingfleet.

To continue to sound or vibrate; to resound. The assertion is still ringing in our ears. Burke.

irect; unreserved; unqualified; not mincing; as, a round answer; a round oath. "The round assertion." M. Arnold. Sir Toby, I must be round with you. Shak.

Openess; plainess; boldness; positiveness; as, the roundness of an assertion.

Disposed to self-assertion; self-asserting.

eaker; as, I shall suffer; we shall see; and there is always a less distinct and positive assertion of his volition than is indicated by will. "I shall go" implies nearly a simple futurity; more exactly, a foretelling or an expectation of my going, in which, naturally enough, a certain degree of plan or intention may b…

ical grounds; critical investigation or inquiry, as opposed to the positive assumption or assertion of certain principles.

t this is his sense." Bp. Stillingfleet. (c) To abide by; to adhere to; as to a contrast, assertion, promise, etc.; as, to stand to an award; to stand to one's word. (d) Not to yield; not to fly; to maintain, as one's ground. "Their lives and fortunes were put in safety, whether they stood to it or ran away." Bacon. (e…

trial by the cupel; hence, any critical examination or decisive trial; as, to put a man's assertions to a test. "Bring me to the test." Shak.

That which is untrue; a false assertion; a falsehood; a lie; also, an act of treachery or disloyalty. Shak.

Hence, to defeat in any contest; to get the better of; to put down; to refute. This bold assertion has been fully vanquished in a late reply to the Bishop of Meaux's treatise. Atterbury. For e'en though vanquished, he could argue still. Goldsmith.

That which is true; a true assertion or tenet; a truth; a reality. Mark what I say, which you shall find By every syllable a faithful verity. Shak.

A solemn assertion. [R.]