uncertain

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English

Etymology

From Middle English uncerteyn; equivalent to un- +‎ certain.

Pronunciation

Adjective

uncertain (comparative more uncertain or (rare) uncertainer, superlative most uncertain or (uncommon) uncertainest)

  1. Not certain; unsure.
    • 1664, John Tillotson, “Sermon I. The Wisdom of Being Religious. Job XXVIII. 28.”, in The Works of the Most Reverend Dr. John Tillotson, Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: , 8th edition, London: T. Goodwin, B Tooke, and J. Pemberton, ; J. Round , and J Tonson] , published 1720, →OCLC, page 20:
      Conſider man without the protection and conduct of a ſuperior Being, and he is ſecure of nothing that he enjoys in this world, and uncertain of every thing that he hopes for.
  2. Not known for certain; questionable.
    Tomorrow's weather is uncertain.
  3. Not yet determined; undecided.
  4. Variable and subject to change.
  5. Fitful or unsteady.
    • 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, “Accessary after the Fact”, in Nobody, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 1915, →OCLC, page 48:
      Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when, of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little stood like a stricken thing, quite motionless save that she quaked to her very marrow in the grasp of a great and enervating fear.
  6. Unpredictable or capricious.

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Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

uncertain pl (plural only)

  1. (with "the") Something uncertain.
    • 2011, John Lyons, The Phantom of Chance: From Fortune to Randomness in Seventeenth-Century French Literature‎:
      Thinking about the uncertain refines our perception of the certain, and generally this takes place in a framework in which the uncertain is the future and the certain is the present.

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