When should you use “ensure” vs. “insure”? Definitions and examples

The difference between “ensure” vs. “insure”

These two words sound similar and have similar meanings but are not interchangeable. While some words, like “grey” and “gray,” will retain their meaning no matter which spelling is used, this isn’t the case with other words like “anytime” vs. “any time” or “ensure” vs. “insure.”

Don’t worry if you’ve confused the two before. They’re similar enough that it’s a reasonably common occurrence in writing. But if you do happen to mix the two up, your sentence likely won’t make much sense, even though both words have to do with guarantees.

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”Ensure” definition

“Ensure” means that you’re going to make sure of something. You’re going to guarantee an outcome and make something happen.

”Insure” definition

“Insure” means that you’ll take measures or precautions to guarantee protection. It’s most often used in a financial context and refers to an official measure of protection, like an insurance policy in place to provide compensation in case of an incident.

How to use “insure” vs. “ensure” in a sentence

To ensure that you understand the difference between “ensuring” and “insuring” something, here are a few examples to get you on the right track:

”Insure” examples

• It is required by law that you insure your car.
• When the painting went missing, the owner wasn’t worried because he had had it insured for $3,000,000.
• When my cousin bought a house in Florida, he bought a flood insurance policy for his home but didn’t bother insuring his boat, which was problematic after the hurricane.

”Ensure” examples

• If you take enough time to study and prepare for the exam, you can ensure that you’ll get a good grade.
• He scored three touchdowns for his team last night, helping to ensure their victory.
• Regular grammar lessons, like sentence diagrams, ensured that her students produced better writing by the end of the school year.

Tips for remembering “insure” vs. “ensure”

Another way to think about these two words is that “ensure” is trying to make you reach a goal and “insure” is trying to keep something bad from happening. We have car, health, and life “insurance” to protect us from illness and injury. Some celebrities go as far as to “insure” their body parts and pets to “ensure” that they are protected if something bad happens.

Hopefully, this primer ensures that you understand the difference between these two strikingly similar homophones. For more help with your writing, turn to Microsoft Editor to choose the best words and adjust your sentence structure for more effective writing.