Adjacent Words

Uncertain definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

UNCER'TAIN, a.
1. Not certain; doubtful; not certainly known. it is uncertain who will be the next president.
2. Doubtful; not having certain knowledge.
man without the protection of a superior Being - is uncertain of every thing that he hopes for.
3. Not sure in the consequence.
Or whistling slings dismiss'd the uncertain stone.
4. Not sure; not exact.
Soon bent his bow, uncertain in his aim.
5. Unsettled; irregular.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: lacking or indicating lack of confidence or assurance; "uncertain of his convictions"; "unsure of himself and his future"; "moving with uncertain (or unsure) steps"; "an uncertain smile"; "touched the ornaments with uncertain fingers" [syn: uncertain, unsure, incertain] [ant: certain, sure]
2: not established beyond doubt; still undecided or unknown; "an uncertain future"; "a manuscript of uncertain origin"; "plans are still uncertain"; "changes of great if uncertain consequences"; "without further evidence his story must remain uncertain" [ant: certain]
3: not established or confirmed; "his doom is as yet unsealed" [syn: unsealed, uncertain] [ant: certain, sealed]
4: not certain to occur; not inevitable; "everything is uncertain about the army"; "the issue is uncertain" [ant: certain, sure]
5: subject to change; "a changeable climate"; "the weather is uncertain"; "unsettled weather with rain and hail and sunshine coming one right after the other" [syn: changeable, uncertain, unsettled]
6: not consistent or dependable; "an uncertain recollection of events"; "a gun with a rather uncertain trigger"
7: ambiguous (especially in the negative); "she spoke in no uncertain terms"

Merriam Webster's

adjective Date: 14th century 1. indefinite, indeterminate <the time of departure is uncertain> 2. not certain to occur ; problematical <his success was uncertain> 3. not reliable ; untrustworthy <an uncertain ally> 4. a. not known beyond doubt ; dubious <an uncertain claim> b. not having certain knowledge ; doubtful <remains uncertain about her plans> c. not clearly identified or defined <a fire of uncertain origin> 5. not constant ; variable, fitful <an uncertain breeze> • uncertainly adverb • uncertainness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 not certainly knowing or known (uncertain what it means; the result is uncertain). 2 unreliable (his aim is uncertain). 3 changeable, erratic (uncertain weather). Phrases and idioms: in no uncertain terms clearly and forcefully. Derivatives: uncertainly adv.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Uncertain Un*cer"tain, a. [Pref. un- + certain. Cf. Incertain.] 1. Not certain; not having certain knowledge; not assured in mind; distrustful. --Chaucer. Man, without the protection of a superior Being, . . . is uncertain of everything that he hopes for. --Tillotson. 2. Irresolute; inconsonant; variable; untrustworthy; as, an uncertain person; an uncertain breeze. O woman! in our hours of ease, Uncertain, coy, and hard to please! --Sir W. Scott. 3. Questionable; equivocal; indefinite; problematical. ``The fashion of uncertain evils.'' --Milton. From certain dangers to uncertain praise. --Dryden. 4. Not sure; liable to fall or err; fallible. Soon bent his bow, uncertain in his aim. --Dryden. Whistling slings dismissed the uncertain stone. --Gay. Syn: See Precarious.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Uncertain Un*cer"tain, v. t. [1st pref. un- + certain; or fr. uncertain, a.] To make uncertain. [Obs.] --Sir W. Raleigh.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you are uncertain about something, you do not know what you should do, what is going to happen, or what the truth is about something. He was uncertain about his brother's intentions... They were uncertain of the total value of the transaction... He stopped, uncertain how to put the question tactfully... With some hesitation and an uncertain smile, she held out her hand. = unsure ? certain ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ about/of n, ADJ wh/that • uncertainly He entered the hallway and stood uncertainly. ADV: usu ADV after v 2. If something is uncertain, it is not known or definite. How far the republics can give practical help, however, is uncertain... It's uncertain whether they will accept the plan... Students all over the country are facing an uncertain future. ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft it v-link ADJ wh 3. If you say that someone tells a person something in no uncertain terms, you are emphasizing that they say it strongly and clearly so that there is no doubt about what they mean. She told him in no uncertain terms to go away. PHRASE: PHR after v [emphasis]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Equivocal, doubtful, dubious, unsettled, indistinct, ambiguous, indefinite, questionable. 2. Unreliable, insecure, precarious, problematical. 3. Not sure, not confident, doubtful, dubious. 4. Irregular, unpunctual, capricious, desultory, fitful, variable, changeable, mutable, slippery, shaky, unsettled.

Moby Thesaurus

Pyrrhonic, adrift, afloat, agnostic, alternating, ambiguous, ambitendent, ambivalent, amorphous, amphibological, amphibolous, at a loss, at loose ends, blear, bleared, bleary, blurred, blurry, broken, capricious, careening, catchy, chancy, changeable, changeful, choppy, confused, dark, desultory, deviable, deviative, dicey, dim, disconnected, discontinuous, distrustful, dizzy, double-minded, doubtful, doubting, dubious, eccentric, enigmatic, equivocal, equivocatory, erratic, faint, fast and loose, feeble, fence-sitting, fence-straddling, fickle, filmy, fitful, flickering, flighty, flitting, fluctuating, foggy, freakish, from Missouri, fuzzy, giddy, guttering, half-seen, half-visible, halting, hazardous, hazy, herky-jerky, hesitant, hesitating, heteroclite, iffy, ill-defined, immethodical, impetuous, impulsive, in doubt, incalculable, inconsistent, inconspicuous, inconstant, indecisive, indefinite, indemonstrable, indistinct, indistinguishable, infirm, infirm of purpose, insecure, intermittent, intermitting, ironic, irregular, irresolute, irresolved, irresponsible, jerky, leery, low-profile, lurching, mazy, mercurial, merely glimpsed, mistrustful, mistrusting, misty, moody, mugwumpian, mugwumpish, multivocal, mutable, mysterious, nonuniform, obscure, of two minds, out of focus, pale, patchy, polysemantic, polysemous, protean, questionable, questioning, rambling, restless, risky, rocky, rough, roving, scatterbrained, scrappy, scrupulous, semivisible, shadowy, shaky, shapeless, shifting, shifty, shuffling, shy, skeptical, snatchy, spasmatic, spasmic, spasmodic, spastic, speculative, spineless, sporadic, spotty, staggering, suspecting, suspicious, tottery, touch-and-go, treacherous, unaccountable, unclear, unconfirmable, uncontrolled, unconvinced, undecided, undefined, undependable, undetermined, undisciplined, undivinable, unequal, uneven, unfixed, unforeseeable, unhealthy, unmethodical, unmetrical, unpersuaded, unplain, unpredictable, unprovable, unrecognizable, unregular, unreliable, unresolved, unrestrained, unrhythmical, unsafe, unsettled, unsound, unstable, unstable as water, unstaid, unsteadfast, unsteady, unsure, unsystematic, untrusting, untrustworthy, unverifiable, vacillating, vagrant, vague, variable, veering, vicissitudinary, vicissitudinous, volatile, wandering, wanton, wary, wavering, wavery, wavy, wayward, weak, whimsical, wishy-washy, wobbling, wobbly