uncertain

uncertain

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ʌnˈsɜːtn̩/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ʌnˈsɝtn̩/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tən

Adjective

uncertain (comparative more uncertain, superlative most uncertain)

1. Not certain; unsure.
   • 1663, John Tillotson, The Wisdom of being Religious:

     Man, without the protection of a superior Being, […] is […] uncertain of everything 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, chapter III, in Nobody, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 1915, OCLC 40817384:

     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.
   • 1808 February 22, Walter Scott, “(please specify the introduction or canto number, or chapter name)”, in Marmion; a Tale of Flodden Field, Edinburgh: […] J[ames] Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company, […]; London: William Miller, and John Murray, OCLC 270129616:

     O woman! in our hours of ease, / Uncertain, coy, and hard to please!

Antonyms

• certain

Related terms

• uncertainly, uncertainty

Translations

not known for certain; questionable

Bulgarian: неопределен (bg) (neopredelen) Catalan: incert (ca) Czech: nejistý Esperanto: necerta Finnish: epävarma (fi), kyseenalainen (fi) French: incertain (fr) Galician: incerto (gl) German: ungewiss (de), unsicher (de) Greek: αβέβαιος (el) (avévaios) Ancient: ἀβέβαιος (abébaios) Hungarian: bizonytalan (hu) Khmer: មិនប្រាកដប្រជា (min brakadabracha) Latin: incertus, ambiguus Macedonian: неизвесен (neizvesen) Maori: harapuka, taupetupetu, pōhauhau, matawaenga, hokirua, maunawenawe Plautdietsch: onbestemt Polish: niepewny (pl), nieokreślony (pl) Portuguese: incerto (pt) Romanian: nesigur (ro), incert (ro) Russian: неопределённый (ru) (neopredeljónnyj), нея́сный (ru) (nejásnyj), неуве́ренный (ru) (neuvérennyj) (unsure) Scottish Gaelic: mì-chinnteach Spanish: incierto (es) Swedish: osäker (sv), tvivelaktig (sv) Turkish: şüpheli (tr) Westrobothnian: missä, otytt

not yet determined; undecided

Bulgarian: несигурен (bg) (nesiguren) Catalan: incert (ca) Esperanto: necerta Finnish: epävarma (fi) French: incertain (fr) Galician: incerto (gl) Georgian: გაურკვეველი (gaurḳveveli) German: unbestimmt (de) Hungarian: bizonytalan (hu) Irish: éiginnte Maori: ngākaurua, maunawenawe, kūraruraru Polish: niepewny (pl), niezdecydowany (pl) Portuguese: incerto (pt), indeterminado (pt) Romanian: nedecis, indecis (ro) Russian: неопределённый (ru) (neopredeljónnyj) Scottish Gaelic: mì-chinnteach Spanish: incierto (es) Turkish: belirsiz (tr)

variable and subject to change

Bulgarian: неустановен (bg) (neustanoven) Catalan: incert (ca) Finnish: epävarma (fi) French: incertain (fr) Galician: incerto (gl) German: unbeständig (de), unsicher (de) Hungarian: bizonytalan (hu) Maori: pāhekeheke, ahurangi, kumukumu Portuguese: incerto (pt) Romanian: instabil (ro), inconstant (ro), nestatornic (ro), nestabil (ro) Scottish Gaelic: mì-chinnteach Spanish: incierto (es)

fitful or unsteady

Bulgarian: нестабилен (bg) (nestabilen) Finnish: epävarma (fi), epävakaa (fi) German: unbeständig (de) Hungarian: bizonytalan (hu) Romanian: instabil (ro), neregulat (ro), variabil (ro) Russian: неусто́йчивый (ru) (neustójčivyj), нестаби́льный (ru) (nestabílʹnyj), изме́нчивый (ru) (izménčivyj), непостоя́нный (ru) (nepostojánnyj) Scottish Gaelic: mì-chinnteach

unpredictable or capricious

Bulgarian: неясен (bg) (nejasen), несигурен (bg) (nesiguren) Finnish: arvaamaton (fi) Galician: incerto (gl) German: unbeständig (de) Hungarian: bizonytalan (hu) Romanian: imprevizibil (ro) Russian: непредсказу́емый (ru) (nepredskazújemyj) Scottish Gaelic: mì-chinnteach

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.

Anagrams

• N Centauri, centaurin, encurtain, runcinate