Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilbo1967
The words are not synonyms, never have been. They have very distinctly different meanings. In your example, the first is correct; the second is not. I'd like to see a cite that tells me it is acceptable to interchange the two. Even if that is forthcoming for American English, it certainly is not true of English.
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I gave the cite upthread. It notes the American/British distinction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GA Russell
I don't believe that the two are synonyms.
My understanding is that the concept of insure involves the payment of money, while the concept of ensure involves to make certain.
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You can use "ensure" and "insure" in a general sense interchangeably.
If you are talking about insurance, of course, you need to use "insure." The cite is upthread.