Assert

1. To state or express positively; affirm: asserted his innocence.
2. To defend or maintain (one's rights, for example).

To put into words positively and with conviction: affirm, allege, argue, asseverate, aver, avouch, avow, claim, contend, declare, hold, maintain, say, state. Idioms: have it. See affirm/deny/argue.

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