certain
UK /ˈsɜː.tən/ · US /ˈsɝ.tən/ adjective, determiner, pronoun, proper noun
Forms certainer certainest Certains certaine certayne certeine
- adjective Sure in one's mind, positive; absolutely confident in the truth of something. “I was certain of my decision.”
- adjective Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact. “Now that more experiments have been run, the theory is certain and the argument is settled.”
- adjective Sure to happen, inevitable; assured. “It is certain that Spain will reach the finals. / Spain is now certain to reach the finals. / Spain is now certain of a place in the finals.”
- adjective Unfailing; infallible.
- adjective Fixed; regular; determinate. “at certain intervals”
- adjective Particular and definite, but unspecified or unnamed; used to introduce someone or something without going into further detail. “Every wine has a certain distinctive character which sets it apart from all others.”
- adjective (euphemistic, preceded by "a") Used to denote that the speaker is referring to a specific person or thing that they do not want to name directly, implying that the listener should infer the identity of the referent. “I would have been here on time, but a certain someone lost the car keys!”
- adjective (preceded by "a", of a person) Named but not previously mentioned. “Looking inside the cover, they learned that the book had once belonged to a certain R. Jones.”
- determiner Having been determined but not specified. “Certain people are good at running.”
- pronoun (with of) Unnamed or undescribed members (of). “She mentioned a series of contracts, of which certain are not cited.”
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
unavoidable one assured clear confident definite doubtless positive sicker sure unambiguous unequivocal univocal unwavering wis some sealed
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English certeyn, certein, certain, borrowed from Old French certain, from a Vulgar Latin unattested form *certānus, extended form of Latin certus (“fixed, resolved, certain”), of the same origin as cretus, past participle of cernere (“to separate, perceive, decide”). Displaced native Middle English wis, iwis (“certain, sure”) (from Old English ġewiss (“certain, sure”)) and alternative Middle English spelling sertane (“some, certain”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Assured in mind; having no doubts; free from suspicions concerning.
- adjective Determined; resolved; --used with an infinitive.
- noun Certainty. [Obs.] Gower.
- noun A certain number or quantity. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Etymology [F. certain, fr. (assumed) LL. certanus, fr. L. certus determined, fixed, certain, orig. p. p. of cernere to perceive, decide, determine; akin to Gr. concern, critic, crime, riddle a sieve, rinse, v.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “certain”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details