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.
Certitude is an elusive goal and a high presumption, even for science, even for a director of national intelligence, even for the chairman of a select congressional subcommittee.
From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2023
Certitude animates the beast; power feeds its lust for more.
From Washington Post • Jun. 2, 2020
Certitude works, however sharply it may depart from the truth.
From New York Times • Jun. 14, 2011
On the contrary, those acts and states of mind have gratifications proper to themselves, and unlike that of Certitude, as will sufficiently appear on considering them separately.
From An Essay In Aid Of A Grammar Of Assent by Newman, John Henry
Certitude then is essential to the Christian; and if he is to persevere to the end, his certitude must include in it a principle of persistence.
From An Essay In Aid Of A Grammar Of Assent by Newman, John Henry
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.
