Толковый словарь английского языка - sure

I. adjective (~r; ~st) Etymology: Middle English seur, ~, from Anglo-French seur, from Latin securus secure Date: 13th century safe from danger or harm, firmly established ; steadfast , reliable, trustworthy , 4. marked by or given to feelings of confident certainty , characterized by a lack of wavering or hesitation , admitting of no doubt ; indisputable , 6. bound to happen ; inevitable , bound, destined , careful to remember, attend to, or find out something , ~ness noun Synonyms: see: ~ II. adverb Date: 14th century ~ly, Usage: Most commentators consider the adverb ~ to be something less than completely standard; ~ly is usually recommended as a substitute. Our current evidence shows, however, that ~ and ~ly have become differentiated in use. Sure is used in much more informal contexts than ~ly. It is used as a simple intensive can never know how much I bored her, but, be certain, she ~ amused me — Norman Mailer> and, because it connotes strong affirmation, it is used when the speaker or writer expects to be agreed with moot point whether politicians are less venal than in Twain's day. But they're ~ as the devil more intrusive — Alan Abelson> them to play — D. S. Looney>. Surely, like ~, is used as a simple intensive want to leave the impression that I had an unhappy childhood — E. C. Welsh> but it occurs in more formal contexts than ~. Unlike ~ it may be used neutrally—the reader or hearer may or may not agree would ~ly be possible, within a few years, to program a computer to construct a grammar — Noam Chomsky> and it is often used when the writer is trying to persuade <~ly a book on the avant-garde cannot be so conventional — Karl Shapiro>.