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RE: Insure vs. Ensure, was Re: Should we hire this guy?
Subject:RE: Insure vs. Ensure, was Re: Should we hire this guy? From:"Lisa Wright" <liwright -at- uswest -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 5 Jun 2000 14:08:19 -0700
Stan Xiao says:
"Check the dictionary... insure and ensure are synonymous."
I say: Maybe you should do the same. And perhaps look at a style guide.
Ensure: v. To make sure, certain, or safe.
Insure: v. (1) to provide or obtain insurance on or for.
For MOST technical writers, insure is used to refer only to using an
insurance policy to indemnify the policy holder against loss. While the
secondary definition for insure is similar to the one for ensure, most
technical writers don't (and in my not-very-humble opinion _should_ not) use
them the same way. I believe the AP style guide has a similar listing, as
does the Microsoft Style Guide, which says, "Insure: Do not use except to
refer to insurance. Use _ensure_ to mean "to make certain."
