certain

[sur-tn]

adjective

1. free from doubt or reservation; confident; sure.

   I am certain he will come.

   Synonyms: satisfied

2. destined; sure to happen (usually followed by an infinitive).

   He is certain to be there.

3. inevitable; bound to come.

   They realized then that war was certain.

4. established as true or sure; unquestionable; indisputable.

   It is certain that he tried.

   Synonyms: clear, plain, obvious, incontrovertible, irrefutable, incontestable, indubitable

5. fixed; agreed upon; settled.

   on a certain day; for a certain amount.

   Synonyms: determined

6. definite or particular, but not named or specified.

   A certain person phoned. He had a certain charm.

7. that may be depended on; trustworthy; unfailing; reliable.

   His aim was certain.

8. some though not much.

   a certain reluctance.

9. Obsolete.,  steadfast.

pronoun

1. certain ones.

   Certain of the members declined the invitation.

certain

/ ˈsɜːtən /

adjective

1. (postpositive) positive and confident about the truth of something; convinced

   I am certain that he wrote a book

2. (usually postpositive) definitely known

   it is certain that they were on the bus

3. (usually postpositive) sure; bound; destined

   he was certain to fail

4. decided or settled upon; fixed

   the date is already certain for the invasion

5. unfailing; reliable

   his judgment is certain

6. moderate or minimum

   to a certain extent

7. to ensure (that one will get something); confirm

adverb

1. definitely; without a doubt

   he will win for certain

determiner

1. 1. known but not specified or named

      certain people may doubt this

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as plural )

      certain of the members have not paid their subscriptions

2. named but not known

   he had written to a certain Mrs Smith

Word History and Origins

Origin of certain¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin certānus (unrecorded), from Latin cert(us) “sure, settled” (adjective use of past participle of cernere “to decide, separate, sift”) + -ānus -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of certain¹

C13: from Old French, from Latin certus sure, fixed, from cernere to discern, decide

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. for certain, without a doubt; surely.

   I know for certain that I have seen that face before.

see for certain.

Example Sentences

Less than two weeks later, Merck said its other heart pill, Winrevair, had succeeded in Phase 2 trials for the treatment of a certain form of heart failure.

Read more on Barron's

“This was a period in English culture before blackness acquired its fatal association with slavery,” he writes, identifying a “certain strain of indifference to color” in the thinking of the time.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Another division the novel rejects is the one between life and death; it is possible, the narrator contends, to be “a certain percentage alive and a certain percentage dead.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This design allowed the researchers to see whether the brain reused the same neural patterns, or cognitive building blocks, whenever tasks shared certain features.

Read more on Science Daily

Luxury companies need a certain amount of wealth inequality to thrive by giving consumers something to aspire to.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• absolute 
• clear 
• definite 
• genuine 
• positive 
• real 
• safe 
• sure 
• true 
• undeniable 

When To Use

What are other ways to say certain?

Someone who is certain of something is free from doubt or reservation about it. How is certain different from sure, confident, and positive? Find out on Thesaurus.com.