certainly

English

Etymology

From Middle English certeynly; equivalent to certain +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɝtn̩li/
(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɜːtn̩li/
Audio (US) (file)

Adverb

certainly (comparative more certainly, superlative most certainly)

In a way which is certain; with certainty.
- 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, OCLC 54573970:
  , I.iii.2.2:
  he verily thought he had young live frogs in his belly, qui vivebant ex alimento suo, that lived by his nourishment, and was so certainly persuaded of it, that for many years following he could not be rectified in his conceit.
Without doubt, surely.
The accident was certainly caused by human error.
That was certainly sweet of him.
You may certainly join us for dinner.
- 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 731476803:
  So this was my future home, I thought! Certainly it made a brave picture. I had seen similar ones fired-in on many a Heidelberg stein. Backed by towering hills, […] a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
- 2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18:
  WikiLeaks did not cause these uprisings but it certainly informed them. The dispatches revealed details of corruption and kleptocracy that many Tunisians suspected, but could not prove, and would cite as they took to the streets.
An emphatic affirmative answer; of course.
Would you like it with ice? Certainly, and with lemon please.

Synonyms

(with certainty): absolutely, beyond doubt, indubitably, sure thing, undoubtedly, wis (obsolete), without a doubt
(without doubt): definitely, doubtlessly, in fact, indeed, indisputably, indubitably, no doubt, really, sure, surely, truly, undoubtedly, unquestionably, wis (obsolete), without a doubt
(emphatic affirmative): damn right, damn straight, fo shizzle, for sure, oh yeah, wye aye (dialect)

Coordinate terms

maybe, possibly, arguably, questionably, probably, perhaps

Derived terms

soitenly

Translations

with certainty

Arabic: بِالتَّأْكِيد‎‎ (bi-t-taʾkīd)
Bulgarian: си́гурно (bg) (sígurno)
Catalan: certament (ca)
Esperanto: certe (eo)
Finnish: varmasti (fi)
French: certainement (fr)
Galician: certamente
Greek: βεβαίως (el) (vevaíos)
Ancient: οὖν (oûn)
Hebrew: בוודאות‎ (bevada'út)
Hungarian: biztosan (hu), bizonyosan (hu), határozottan (hu)
Italian: certamente (it)
Latin: quippe
Middle English: certeynly
Norman: cèrtainement (Jersey)
Portuguese: certamente (pt), garantidamente
Spanish: ciertamente (es)
Turkish: kesinlikle (tr)

without doubt, surely

Arabic: بِالتَّأْكِيد‎ (bi-t-taʾkīd), بِدُون شَكّ‎ (bidūn šakk), بِدُون نِقَاش‎ (bidūn niqāš)
Egyptian Arabic: أكيد‎ (ʾakīd)
Armenian: անկասկած (hy) (ankaskac)
Bashkir: әлбиттә (älbittä)
Belarusian: безумо́ўна (bjezumóŭna), кане́чна (kanjéčna), вядо́ма (vjadóma), бяссумне́нна (bjassumnjénna), напэ́ўна (napéŭna)
Bulgarian: безспо́рно (bg) (bezspórno), несъмне́но (bg) (nesǎmnéno), си́гурно (bg) (sígurno)
Burmese: တကယ် (my) (ta.kai)
Catalan: certament (ca), sens dubte, sense cap mena de dubte
Chinese:
Mandarin: 當然／当然 (zh) (dāngrán), 一定 (zh) (yīdìng)
Czech: určitě (cs), nepochybně (cs), jistě (cs), samozřejmě (cs)
Dutch: beslist (nl), voorzeker (nl), zeker (nl), waarlijk (nl)
Esperanto: certe (eo), sendube (eo)
Finnish: todellakin, varmasti (fi), epäilemättä (fi)
French: certainement (fr), sûrement (fr), sans nul doute (fr), sans aucun doute (fr)
Galician: abofé (gl), sen dúbida
German: sicherlich (de), zweifellos (de), gewiss (de), freilich (de)
Alemannic German: gwüss
Greek: βεβαίως (el) (vevaíos), σίγουρα (el) (sígoura), ασφαλώς (el) (asfalós)
Ancient: οὖν (oûn)
Hebrew: בוודאות‎ (bevada'út), בוודאי‎
Hindi: अवश्य (hi) (avaśya)
Hungarian: mindenképpen (hu), feltétlenül (hu), kétségkívül (hu), kétségtelenül (hu), tényleg (hu)
Ido: certe (io)
Interlingua: certo
Italian: certamente (it), senza dubbio, non ci piove
Japanese: 確かに (ja) (tashika ni), 必ず (ja) (kanarazu), 絶対に (ja) (zettai ni), 確実に (ja) (kakujitsu ni)
Khmer: please add this translation if you can
Korean: 확실히 (ko) (hwaksilhi)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ئەکید‎ (ku) (ekîd)
Latin: certō
Macedonian: сигурно (sigurno)
Maori: āe rā
Middle English: certeynly
Norman: cèrtainement (Jersey)
Panamint: nu'u
Persian: بطور محرز‎
Plautdietsch: zwoasch
Polish: z pewnością (pl), pewnie (pl)
Portuguese: certamente (pt), sem dúvida
Romanian: bineînțeles (ro), desigur (ro)
Russian: коне́чно (ru) (konéčno), несомне́нно (ru) (nesomnénno), непреме́нно (ru) (nepreménno), безусло́вно (ru) (bezuslóvno), наверняка́ (ru) (navernjaká), бесспо́рно (ru) (besspórno)
Serbo-Croatian:
Roman: zacijelo (sh), sigurno (sh), doista (sh), sigurno (sh)
Slovak: určite, samozrejme, iste, isto
Spanish: ciertamente (es), sin duda (es), a todas luces
Swahili: maalum (sw)
Swedish: säkerligen (sv), utan tvekan (sv)
Telugu: తప్పక (te) (tappaka)
Tocharian B: nemcek, ṣñikek
Turkish: kesinlikle (tr)
Ukrainian: авже́ж (uk) (avžéž), безсумні́вно (uk) (bezsumnívno), неодмі́нно (neodmínno), звича́йно (zvyčájno), безумо́вно (uk) (bezumóvno), напе́вно (napévno)
Urdu: اوشیے‎ (avaśye)
Vietnamese: chắc chắn (vi)
Yiddish: אַוודאי‎ (avade)

emphatic affirmative answer

Arabic: بِالتَّأْكِيد‎ (bi-t-taʾkīd), بِدُون شَكّ‎ (bidūn šakk), بِدُون نِقَاش‎ (bidūn niqāš)
Armenian: իհարկե (hy) (iharke), անշուշտ (hy) (anšušt)
Bulgarian: разби́ра се (razbíra se)
Catalan: certament (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 當然／当然 (zh) (dāngrán)
Czech: určitě (cs), nepochybně (cs), jistě (cs), zajisté (cs)
Dutch: beslist (nl), voorzeker (nl), zeker (nl), en of
Esperanto: jes ja, certe (eo), kompreneble
Finnish: totta kai (fi), ilman muuta (fi), kyllä kiitos
French: certainement (fr), bien sûr (fr), pour sûr (fr), évidemment (fr)
Galician: abofé (gl)
German: sicher (de), natürlich (de)
Greek: βεβαίως (el) (vevaíos), ασφαλώς (el) (asfalós)
Hebrew: בוודאי‎ (be'vadai), כַּמּוּבָן‎
Hungarian: hogyne (hu), természetesen (hu), feltétlenül (hu), szívesen (hu)
Italian: certamente (it), evidentemente (it)
Japanese: その通り (sono tōri), 全く (ja) (mattaku), 必ず (ja) (kanarazu), もちろん (ja) (mochiron)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ئەکید‎ (ku) (ekîd)
Latin: certē
Maori: āpāia, apa ia, anaoa
Middle English: certeynly
Norman: pour saeure (Guernsey), ^{(please verify)} cèrtainement (Jersey)
Polish: na pewno (pl), zdecydowanie (pl)
Portuguese: certamente (pt), sem dúvida
Russian: коне́чно (ru) (konéčno), несомне́нно (ru) (nesomnénno), непреме́нно (ru) (nepreménno), безусло́вно (ru) (bezuslóvno)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: свакако, дакако, наравно, несумњиво
Roman: svakako (sh), dakako (sh), naravno (sh), nesumnjivo (sh)
Spanish: por supuesto (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Telugu: ^{(please verify)} నిశ్చయంగా (niścayaṅgā)

References

certainly in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
certainly in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913