certainty

[sur-tn-tee]

noun

plural

certainties 

1. the state of being certain.

   Synonyms: confidence, assurance, certitude

2. something certain; an assured fact.

   Synonyms: truth

certainty

/ ˈsɜːtəntɪ /

noun

1. the condition of being certain

2. something established as certain or inevitable

3. without doubt

Other Word Forms

• noncertainty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of certainty¹

1250–1300; Middle English certeinte < Anglo-French, equivalent to certein certain + -te -ty ²

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. for / of a certainty, certainly; without a doubt.

   I suspect it, but I don't know it for a certainty.

Synonym Study

See belief.

Example Sentences

Advocates warned of a tidal wave of need as home pantries and CalFresh cards run empty — which they said is no longer a risk but a certainty.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Investors are pricing in the near certainty of a Federal Reserve rate cut when a two-day meeting of the central bank’s policy board winds up on Wednesday.

Read more on Barron's

Most of all, what you have created for yourselves after this diagnosis is something that was taken from you at that time: certainty.

Read more on MarketWatch

“It is possible that some products may no longer be usable due to the conditions of transport, but this has not been established with certainty,” Baleci added.

Read more on Salon

While risks remain, the latest quarter—and the strong demand for space in Digital Realty’s data centers—should give investors a measure of the certainty they crave.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• confidence 
• inevitability www.thesaurus.com
• trust