On one issue, however, I must state my disagreement with this report.

Words can only mean something if they are stated with a specific purpose.

"Doctor, can you state with certainty the cause of death?"

"Because American is the natural language of business," the king stated with full conviction.

He stated, "They have been having a lot of trouble with the box, and had to take it away."

But his case is not stated with authority or conviction.

You could have stated your case with a phone call.

The exact cause for this, I cannot state with certainty.

If you state something with aplomb, then people feel it's true.

He appeared to be hearing and seeing things, but I couldn't state with certainty that such was the case.