“Sure” if said politely is an affirmative alternative to saying “yes”. To be polite it’s always good to say “Sure, I would like to …” or “Sure, that would be nice…” Which is still dependent on how you say these words. If you say them sarcastically then it would be rude.

There’s no difference in meaning between make sure and ensure, it’s just that ensure is more formal. When speaking, we typically use make sure. If writing a more formal article or business text, we would use ensure.

make sure = take action to ensure. be sure = assure oneself. I will go with you to the airline counter to make sure that you will not have any problems when checking in. [This sentence means I want to help you, so “make sure” fits better than “be sure”.]

: to find out or do something so that one has no doubt about whether something is true, correct, will happen, etc.

assure

• cinch.
• clinch.
• complete.
• confirm.
• ensure.
• guarantee.
• have a lock on.
• ice.

If you make sure that something is the way that you want or expect it to be, you check that it is that way. He looked in the bathroom to make sure that he was alone.

1 They waited for the tumult to die down. 2 He waited for the applause to die down. 3 The controversy is unlikely to die down. 4 These rumours will soon die down.

Synonyms for Make sure

1. ensure. v.
2. be sure. v. & int.
3. ensuring. v.
4. assure. v.
5. secure. v.
6. guarantee. v.
7. check. v.
8. verify. v.

: not having any doubt about something : convinced or certain. : not allowing any doubt or possibility of failure. —used to say that something will definitely happen or that someone will definitely do something —usually followed by to + verb. sure. adverb.

Both sure and surely are used as intensifying adverbs with the sense “undoubtedly, certainly.” In this use, sure is generally informal and occurs mainly in speech and written representations of speech: She sure dazzled the audience with her acceptance speech.

It’s a response to a question. It means “Yes” or “Definitely” or “For certain” and “I can’t think of any reason not to (do whatever it is)”

Sure is used to signal consent, or to put it another way, willingness to go along with something. It’s often used in response to requests for permission: Alice: Would you mind if I take the car? Bob: Sure, go ahead.

No, they don’t. They’re not allowed to (culturally speaking, of course). ‘Yes’, ‘Of course’ and ‘Undoubtedly so’ are all accepted affirmative responses in the UK.

Informal

• Yes.
• Ya.
• Yep.
• Yup.
• YAAAAAS.
• Totally.
• Totes.
• Sure.

Why do some Americans pronounce “sure” as “shore”? Because of the “u” in the word! It’s “sure,” not “sher” or “shir.” (Noting, of course that the “u” modifies the “S” pronunciation into an “sh” sound.)

This is a pun of “it’s a sure thing” in that shore sounds like sure. The phrase “it’s a shore thing” could mean “it’s is a beach culture thing, if you don’t love the beach you don’t understand” or “the beach is definitely the place to be”, or a little of both.

the correct phrase is “shore up” not “sure up.” This expression first appeared a long, long time ago—somewhere between 1300-1500—when the word “shore” was not only a place where the land met the sea or the place where she sells seashells.