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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Vocabulary

Claim or assert

Ernest Gowers, in 'The Complete Plain Words', said that using the word 'claim' to mean 'assert' was an unwelcome Americanism, e.g. 'the defendant claimed that he had been framed.' His book was written in the 1950s and I was wondering if this usage now more acceptable, or is it still wrong?
  

Top answer

Hi, My Concise Oxford (in other words, British) Dictionary from 1960 shows that even at that time, the meanings overlapped. I mean that each word has various meanings, but that some are the same. This is true today, too, although one or the other may well sound better in a given context.

  • Hi, My Concise Oxford (in other words, British) Dictionary from 1960 shows that even at that time, the meanings overlapped.
  • I mean that each word has various meanings, but that some are the same.
  • This is true today, too, although one or the other may well sound better in a given context.
  • Clive
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1 Answers
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Hi,

My Concise Oxford (in other words, British) Dictionary from 1960 shows that even at that time, the meanings overlapped.

I mean that each word has various meanings, but that some are the same.

This is true today, too, although one o

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