certainty
Americannoun
-
certainties
plural
-
the state of being certain.
- Synonyms:
- confidence, assurance, certitude
-
something certain; an assured fact.
- Synonyms:
- truth
idioms
noun
-
the condition of being certain
-
something established as certain or inevitable
-
without doubt
Synonym Usage
See belief.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of certainty
1250–1300; Middle English certeinte < Anglo-French, equivalent to certein certain + -te -ty 2
Explanation
A certainty is a sure thing, something we know is true or will happen without any doubt. Here's a certainty: One plus one is two. And here's another: The earth orbits the sun. The noun certainty comes from the Latin word certus, meaning "sure" or "fixed." Besides being something that is certain, the word can also refer to a state of mind, like the confidence you feel when you know something is completely true or right. For example, you might speak with certainty about your decision to move to the big city and pursue your dream of becoming a famous actor. (But that doesn't necessarily mean becoming a famous actor is a certainty.)
Vocabulary lists containing certainty
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
One of the things I have always loved about “Bob’s Burgers” is the bittersweet certainty that the Belchers may get ahead, but never by very much.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
One important limitation is that the researchers cannot determine with certainty whether Shingrix itself was responsible for the lower rate of dementia diagnoses.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
Another factor is President Donald Trump’s nomination on Wednesday afternoon of a new Food and Drug Administration commissioner, which grants some certainty to investors who have been unsure about the future direction of the regulator.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
Organisers say the decision to push back the ENC for a year will provide "certainty and stability" for competing teams, partners and fans.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
“You knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly.”
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Death, taxes and Jean Smart winning another Emmy are among life’s certainties.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
These calculations are useful, but they are estimates rather than certainties.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
AI systems produce probabilities, and people treat them as certainties.
From Salon ● May 12, 2026
City's win leaves them only two points behind the Gunners, who showed signs of creaking under pressure as they cast aside a two-goal lead to draw with relegation certainties Wolverhampton Wanderers in midweek.
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2026
The tragedy of the war, on so many levels, and the apparent unravelling of the certainties of the previous century, elicited an unprecedented collective response from British composers.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
