Reassured

How to spell reassured

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce reassured

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does reassured mean?

1. verbRestored someone's confidence or removed their doubts and worries.
2. adjectiveFeeling more confident or less worried after being given comfort or information.

Reassured in a sentence

• verb

  The doctor reassured the patient that the results were normal.

• adjective

  He felt reassured once the mechanic explained the repair.

• verb

  The manager reassured staff that no jobs would be cut.

• adjective

  The customers seemed reassured by the refund policy.

Where does reassured come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the past form of 'reassure', which combines the prefix re-, meaning 'again', with the verb 'assure'. 'Assure' came into English in the late 1300s from Old French 'asseurer', which traces back to the Latin 'assecurare', built from 'ad' (meaning 'to') and 'securus' (meaning 'free from care' or 'safe'). That same Latin 'securus' is the ancestor of the modern words 'secure' and 'sure'. To 'reassure' someone, then, is literally to make them feel safe and certain once more, restoring a confidence that had wavered. The doubled letters that trip people up come from the prefix sitting against the 's' of 'assure', giving the tricky 'rea' followed by 'ss'.

How the word is built

• re- (again)
• assure (to make secure or confident)
• -ed (past tense/participle suffix)