uncertain

CEFRB1

/ʌnˈsɜːtən/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
adjective
Not known, decided, or completely sure.
02
adjective
Extra detail
Not known for certain; questionable.

Examples

I am uncertain whether this is a thing of value.
The weather is uncertain at this time of year.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses: 5
Parts of speech: 1
Citations: 4

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

Not yet determined; undecided.
Not certain; unsure.
Variable and subject to change.

More examples

In context

Tomorrow's weather is uncertain.
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.
O, woman! in our hours of ease, / Uncertain, coy, and hard to please, / And variable as the shade / By the light quivering aspen made; […]

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The weather forecast is blank, so we cannot decide whether to bring an umbrella.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Citations

The word in print, with each source given in full.

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.
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: […], 8t...
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.
1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], published 1915, →OCLC, chapter III (Accessory After the Fact), page 382, column 1
O, woman! in our hours of ease, / Uncertain, coy, and hard to please, / And variable as the shade / By the light quivering aspen made; […]
1808 February 22, Walter Scott, “Canto Sixth. The Battle.”, 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, stanza XXXI, page 362
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.
2011, John Lyons, The Phantom of Chance: From Fortune to Randomness in Seventeenth-Century French Literature

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Origin

adjective

From Middle English uncerteyn. By surface analysis, un- + certain.

Deep Dive

adjective

More examples

Related

Quick test

The weather forecast is blank—, so we cannot decide whether to bring an umbrella.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

The weather forecast is blank, so we cannot decide whether to bring an umbrella.