surety

noun

ˈshu̇r(-ə)-tē How to pronounce surety (audio)
Definition of suretynext
1
as in contract
a formal agreement to fulfill an obligation gave his surety that he would pay back the loan if his sister was unable to for any reason

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2
as in sponsor
a person who takes the responsibility for some other person or thing a mutual friend agreed to act as surety if I lent my cousin some money, since I wasn't certain that she'd be able to pay it back

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in assurance
a state of mind in which one is free from doubt I can't tell you the year in which that event happened with any great surety

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of surety Part of that was down to Nosková, who hit her forehand with a surety which was the polar opposite of Muchová, who had nine forehand errors in the first set. — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 11 July 2026 Bond was set at $400,000 cash or surety, court records show. — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 23 June 2026 Tragicomedy is an assault on surety. — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026 Bond has been set at $6,000 cash with an additional $10,000 surety. — Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for surety
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surety
  1. contract
  2. sponsor
  3. assurance
  4. guarantee
  5. patron
  6. certainty
  7. deal
  8. guarantor
Noun
  • In May, Peevy was given a contract extension through 2031, the financial terms of which have not been disclosed.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Democratic members of the Public Service Commission, the state’s energy regulator, say the contract is risky for Georgia’s residential customers.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of contract
Noun
  • Burnley have terminated the agreement with their front-of-shirt sponsor Finotive One on the eve of the 2026-27 Championship campaign.
    — Andy Jones, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The legislation appears to have a strong path to passage, with a more-than-two-thirds supermajority of co-sponsors in the 51-member council.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of sponsor
Noun
  • Among the areas covered by the new measures are backups, incident response, risk management and security assurance, with later phases requiring further testing of clubs’ ability to recover from cyber incidents.
    — Amelie Claydon, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • While there were previous assurances under the Biden administration that the site would reopen once construction was complete, that does not appear to be the case now.
    — Alexandra Mendoza, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of assurance
Noun
  • Past performance is no guarantee of future results, remember.
    — Frank Holmes, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Adult usage is holding steady, and there’s no guarantee that young people will continue abstaining.
    — Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, The Conversation, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of guarantee
Noun
  • Some of those exiting patrons made their way to hotels that saw a 25% revenue bump between the World Cup and Sail Boston.
    — Mike Sullivan, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The City Council on Thursday passed legislation that would allow restaurants to put up heated, tent-like structures for patrons to dine outside when the mercury drops.
    — Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of patron
Noun
  • While talks are still fluid in Mangione’s federal case, in other cases where firm agreements were in place there is no certainty that a judge will sign off on the terms.
    — Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
  • But each step up the sanctions ladder brings greater diplomatic costs — and diminishing certainty that additional economic damage will translate into political concessions.
    — Magdalena Del Valle, Fortune, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of certainty
Noun
  • Tensions escalated this week after the deadline for Washington and Tehran to negotiate a peace deal formally expired on Monday, despite relations having nosedived — and fighting restarted — weeks prior.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • That tariff rate was later reduced to 15% when the two sides agreed on a trade deal, but uncertainty remains about the stability of that agreement and how imports of certain European goods, such as steel, will be taxed by Washington.
    — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of deal
Noun
  • Her family, like Ayesha’s, ultimately secured her release through a guarantor and a hefty payment.
    — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Powell wasn’t always right, and following his doctrine is no guarantor of success.
    — KORI SCHAKE, Foreign Affairs, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of guarantor

Browse Nearby Words

sureties
surety
surf
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Cite this Entry

“Surety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surety. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on surety

Nglish: Translation of surety for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about surety

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