sure adv.
1. a general intensifier, definitely, absolutely.
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Trial of Elizabeth Canning in Howell State Trials (1816) 483: After you missed your daughter [...] you took all the means in your power to know what was become of her? —Sure I did, I went to all the agents and places where I could think of, fearing some casualty. | |
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | diary 1 Jan. pub. as William Johnson’s Natchez (1951) 275: Loaned Mr Wm Mosby One Hundred Dollars to be paid when called for or Demaned. Sure and no mistake. | |
| diary 1 Nov. pub. as William Johnson’s Natchez (1951) 412: I herd that Dixon the Carpenter has Bot the Quigless Plantations and the amount paid or to be paid is five thousand dollars I Consider the Amount Quite Small for the place Cheap, Cheap, Surre. | |
| diary 2 June pub. as Gavels & Guns (2016) 97: Bedford left his little white dog, is still playing with Dick. I reckon he is not very sorry, he’ll get his grub sure. | |
| ‘Dialect of Southeastern Missouri’ in DN II:v 332: sure, adv. Pronounced shore, as ‘shore fine’. | |
| Smoke Bellew Pt 11 🌐 This has the makin’s of a Jim-dandy suburb, an’ it sure looks like it’ll be some popular. | |
| Somewhere in Red Gap 54: The minute I get plumb sure mad I get wily. | |
| Home to Harlem 211: She is sure some wonderful brown. [...] Now I sure does understand why Ray is so scornful of them easy ones. | |
| Sister of the Road (1975) 33: The shacks are hostile, and the railroad dicks will glom you sure, unless you’re lucky. | |
| Skid Row 35: ‘Maybe he’s a nose diver [...] Maybe not. Aw, sure, he is. Everybody in these joints nose dives’. | |
| in Damon Runyon (1992) 39: The guy from Boston sure could handset type: he did a column in forty-three minutes. | |
| Blindsighted 85: I mean, we knew she was blind, sure. |
2. as sense 1 but used ironically/dismissively cf. right phr.).
| Wayward Ones 7: ‘I’m tellin’ ya the truth.’‘Yeah,’ Poppa said. ‘Yeah, sure’. | |
| Hot House 195: ‘I’ll look into it,’ said [Warden] Matthews [...] ‘Sure,’ Silverstein replied. He didn’t believe him. | |
 | Bad Boy 172: One of the others told me to stay where I was while they went to get a gun. Sure. | |
| Not My First Rodeo 54: We all started laughing. Sure, you did, Dad, we thought. Sure, you did. |