Uncertain Meaning
/ʌnˈsɜːtən/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjNot certain; unsure.
adjNot known for certain; questionable.
Sentence Examples
I am uncertain whether this is a thing of value.
The weather is uncertain at this time of year.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The weather forecast is ____, so we cannot decide whether to bring an umbrella.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Future economic growth remains ____, as there are many different factors that could affect the global market today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English uncerteyn. By surface analysis, un- + certain.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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: […], 8th edition, London: […] T. Goodwin, B[enjamin] Tooke, and J. Pemberton, […]; J. Round […], and J[acob] Tonson] […], published 1720, →OCLC, page 20:
"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:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The weather forecast is ____, so we cannot decide whether to bring an umbrella.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Future economic growth remains ____, as there are many different factors that could affect the global market today.