ensuring

USAGE SUMMARY

The word "ensuring" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to indicate that someone is taking action to make a certain outcome happen. For example, "The government is taking steps to ensure the safety of the citizens."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Formal & Business

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

The content of the course will be tailored to the experience and interests of members of the group, ensuring every attendee receives a personalised experience and progresses as a photographer.

The Guardian

That means ensuring that those who do come here are the brightest and the best, the people we really need with the skills and entrepreneurial talent to create the British jobs and growth that will help us to win in the global race".

The Guardian

But seven unanswered goals from the Swans closed the margin to just three points midway through the final term, ensuring for a frantic finish.

The Guardian - Sport

"The manager told us just to keep the ball down and play, then we would be fine," said Nathan Redmond, who was instrumental in ensuring Norwich eventually prevailed.

The Guardian - Sport

They might also be decisive in ensuring the party has its two-thirds majority.

The Guardian - Opinion

Yet nearly all advertising for sanitary products encourages us to hide this chunk of our lives – three thousand days for most women – by preventing leaks that might embarrass us and everyone else; by ensuring we don't, God forbid, smell of menstrual blood; by putting menstruation behind locked doors and safely enclosed in euphemism.

The Guardian - Opinion

"I figured I could do the same work I was doing at the UN by ensuring that cheese makers in Mexico had a place to distribute their cheese.

The Guardian - Lifestyle

She expressed her regret that some parties in the Assembly remained opposed to the NCA operating with its full range of powers in Northern Ireland but said that the "UK government completely accepts the crucial importance of ensuring that NCA's operations in Northern Ireland are fully consistent with the devolution settlement.

The Guardian

Asked whether the rejection of bulk collection by Congress and the courts meant it was now time to review official US attitudes to Snowden, Rand Paul, the Republican presidential candidate who played a key role in ensuring the Patriot Act provisions expired on Sunday night, declined to comment.

The Guardian

Ensuring the conditions for this election to take place should be the priority on which all parties agree.

The Guardian - Opinion

Patents became protection of intellectual property, ensuring that inventors' ideas could be shared under licence.

The Guardian

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "ensuring" when you want to emphasize the active role someone or something plays in making a particular outcome certain. For instance, "The company is implementing new policies, ensuring compliance with regulations."

Common error

Avoid using "ensuring" in phrases where the meaning is already clear. For example, instead of saying "ensuring that all necessary precautions are taken", simply state "taking all necessary precautions".

Linguistic Context

The primary grammatical function of "ensuring" is that of a present participle, often acting as part of a verb phrase or as a gerund, functioning as a noun. According to Ludwig AI, it is used to indicate taking action to make a certain outcome happen.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

38%

Formal & Business

32%

Science

30%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "ensuring" functions as a present participle used to convey the act of making something certain. Ludwig AI confirms that it indicates taking action to make a certain outcome happen. It sees widespread use across various contexts, particularly in news, formal business communications, and scientific writing. While grammatically correct and common, it's important to avoid redundancy in its usage, as highlighted in the writing guidance. Its semantic alternatives, such as "making certain" or "guaranteeing", offer subtle variations in meaning and formality.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

making certain

Focuses on the action of confirming a particular outcome.

guaranteeing

Implies a promise or assurance of a specific result.

assuring

Emphasizes instilling confidence or removing doubt about something.

making sure

A more informal way to express the act of confirming.

confirming

Highlights the act of verifying or establishing something as true or definite.

verifying

Focuses on checking the accuracy or truth of something.

ascertaining

Suggests discovering something through investigation.

securing

Indicates obtaining or ensuring something, often with effort.

taking precautions

Emphasizes proactive measures to prevent undesirable outcomes.

safeguarding

Highlights the act of protecting something from harm or risk.

FAQs

How can I use "ensuring" in a sentence?

You can use "ensuring" to describe an action taken to guarantee a specific outcome. For example: "The project manager is responsible for "ensuring that the project is completed on time"".

What can I say instead of "ensuring"?

You can use alternatives like "making certain", "guaranteeing", or "assuring" depending on the context.

Which is correct, "ensuring that" or "ensuring to"?

"Ensuring that" is the correct construction. "Ensuring to" is grammatically incorrect. For example: "Ensuring that all participants understand the rules is crucial".

What is the difference between "ensuring" and "assuring"?

"Ensuring" means to make certain something will happen, while "assuring" means to remove someone's doubts. You "ensure" an outcome, but you "assure" a person.