Word Confusion: Allege versus Assert

Third person present verb: alleges
Past tense or past participle: alleged
Present participle: alleging

Third person present verb: asserts
Past tense or past participle: asserted
Present participle: asserting

• [Usually be alleged] Suppose or affirm to be the case

Verb, transitive:
Claim or assert that someone has done something illegal or wrong, typically without proof that this is the case

To declare with positiveness

• Affirm
• Assert

To claim a fact

To declare before a court or elsewhere, as if under oath

• State without or before proof

To plead in support of

• Offer as a reason or excuse

[Archaic] To cite or quote in confirmation

• [Assert oneself] Behave or speak in a confident and forceful manner

Verb, transitive:
State a fact or belief confidently and forcefully

• Cause others to recognize (one’s authority or a right) by confident and forceful behavior
• State strongly or positively
• Affirm
• Aver

To maintain or defend (claims, rights, etc.)

To state as having existence

• Affirm
• Postulate

To assert a first cause as necessary

He is alleged to have assaulted five men.

The first artifact ever alleged to be from Earhart’s aircraft.

“Army officials also allege that he worked for ethnic rebels as a ‘communications captain'” (Carroll).

“Tihen did allege that Davis had punched White in the nose at the start of the struggle” (Daly).

Verb, transitive:
The offenses are alleged to have been committed outside the woman’s home.

Hank Parton alleged malpractice by Dr. Snootful.

Ted will allege that our next-door neighbor’s son set the dog on fire.

Meanwhile our neighbor alleges that it wasn’t his kid.

“They also allege their children are not in fact siblings, despite having been told they were” (Traster).

School districts are alleging the state has not continued to finance schools adequately.

She is alleged to have assaulted the other women in her bridge club.

“I don’t know why she came,” he asserted.

It was time to assert himself.

Verb, transitive:
The good librarian is able to assert authority when required.

He asserted his innocence of the crime.

The young man asserted his right for a search warrant before the police could search his car.

The Catholic Church asserts that God is everywhere.

Creationists assert that “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

1. Middle English in the sense of declare on oath is from the Old French esligier, based on the Latin lis, lit- meaning lawsuit.

   This Latin meaning is sometimes confused in the sense of the Latin allegare meaning allege.

2. 1275-1325, Middle English, alleg(g)en, which is probably from the Old French aleguer, which is from the Medieval Latin allēgāre meaning to adduce in support of a plea, combined with the Anglo-French and Old French aleg(i)er meaning to justify, free, literally, to lighten, which is from the Late Latin alleviāre.