uncertain
not definitely ascertainable or fixed, as in time of occurrence, number, dimensions, or quality.
not confident, assured, or free from hesitancy: an uncertain smile.
not clearly or precisely determined; indefinite; unknown: a manuscript of uncertain origin.
vague; indistinct; not perfectly apprehended: an abstruse novel with uncertain themes.
subject to change; variable; capricious; unstable: a person of uncertain opinions.
ambiguous; unreliable; undependable: Her loyalties are uncertain.
dependent on chance or unpredictable factors; doubtful; of unforeseeable outcome or effect.
unsteady or flickering, as light; of changing intensity or quality.
Origin of uncertain
1synonym study For uncertain
Other words for uncertain
Other words from uncertain
- un·cer·tain·ly, adverb
- un·cer·tain·ness, noun
Words Nearby uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use uncertain in a sentence
It’s essential for companies to capitalize on the essential time together during these uncertain times.
Best practices for Zoom board meetings at early-stage startups | Walter Thompson | February 12, 2021 | TechCrunchStartled and uncertain, Teichner takes in the proposal and answers with a solid maybe.
A ‘money pit’ dog, an ailing owner and one big question | Diane Cole | February 5, 2021 | Washington PostThe end of this sickness is still uncertain and many months away, especially for those who live in the poorest parts of the planet.
The virus caused more than a pandemic. It set us all ablaze. | Philip Kennicott | February 5, 2021 | Washington PostToday, the hotel and restaurant remain closed, their future as uncertain as Riley’s.
Sommeliers have been forced to pivot in the pandemic, and their futures remain uncertain | Dave McIntyre | February 4, 2021 | Washington PostBack then, it was still uncertain whether fall marathons would be canceled.
Will Major Marathons Actually Come Back This Fall? | Martin Fritz Huber | February 4, 2021 | Outside Online
If the certainty of the wisdom of uncertainty is itself uncertain, the force of the definition crumbles by logical standards.
In war, he wrote, “everything is uncertain … all military action is intertwined with psychological forces and effects.”
“The jailer had a high-school-age daughter and was uncertain how to help her get in college,” writes Ferris.
Meanwhile, ISIS is on the march, and President Obama strikes an uncertain pose.
Iowa Frontrunner Mike Huckabee Talks to The Daily Beast | Lloyd Green | September 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTEven “destroyed” becomes an uncertain term when applied to these sort of digital files.
Your Arrest Video Is Going Online. Who Will See It? | Jacob Siegel | September 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTDistance, the uncertain light, and imagination, magnified it to a high wall; high as the wall of China.
The Giant of the North | R.M. BallantyneUric acid is decreased before an attack of gout and increased afterward, but its etiologic relation is still uncertain.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddAn estate upon condition is one which depends upon the happening or not happening of some uncertain event.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)It is therefore uncertain from these statements which furnace consumes the greater quantity of air.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickAgain Arabella inclined her head, and looked uneasily round as if uncertain whether to call for assistance.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2) | Charles Dickens
British Dictionary definitions for uncertain
/ (ʌnˈsɜːtən) /
not able to be accurately known or predicted: the issue is uncertain
(when postpositive, often foll by of) not sure or confident (about): a man of uncertain opinion
not precisely determined, established, or decided: uncertain plans
not to be depended upon; unreliable: an uncertain vote
liable to variation; changeable: the weather is uncertain
in no uncertain terms
unambiguously
forcefully
Derived forms of uncertain
- uncertainly, adverb
- uncertainness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with uncertain
see in no uncertain terms.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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