certitude
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of certitude
1375–1425; late Middle English < Late Latin certitūdō, equivalent to Latin certi- (combining form of certus sure; see certain) + -tūdō -tude
Explanation
If you're absolutely convinced your team is going to the Super Bowl, you state it with certitude or confidence. Your team didn't make it? Oh dear, you were guilty of certitude — an absolute conviction that the outcome of the game did not support. In other words, you were a tad cocky. Certitude is very similar to certainty, and often used interchangeably, but there's a hint of danger about certitude; someone who displays it may well be overconfident. Certainty is more certain.
Vocabulary lists containing certitude
The Call of the Wild
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Novel Study: Fahrenheit 451, Part II
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"Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold
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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.
With its surging choruses and humorous arias and recitatives, to say nothing of its jazzy harmonies and dance rhythms, it possesses an irresistible satiric edge while still evoking American certitude amid Cold War challenges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
The arrogant certitude with which he announces his conclusions certainly suggests that he has embraced a posture of infallibility that leaves no room for good-faith disagreement.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2025
America, you’re a big, boisterous nation of more than 342 million people, with all sorts of competing impulses and interests, and no end of certitude to go around.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2025
We can never actually achieve total certitude about the shapes climate change will take, nor do we need to arrive at certitude to take action.
From Salon ● May 1, 2025
He must have known, with a kind of certitude that he felt in his gut, that he finally had in his grasp what had eluded him for years.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
