in no uncertain terms

Idioms  

1. Emphatically, definitely so. For example, Jane told them in no uncertain terms that she wanted no part of their practical joke. The double negative in this idiom serves for emphasis. [Mid-1900s] Also see in so many words.

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Example Sentences

On his broadcast Monday, CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert explained to his audience that he was supposed to air an interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico but had been told by his network’s lawyers, “in no uncertain terms,” that he couldn’t air it.

From Slate

"We were told in no uncertain terms by our network's lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast," he said.

From BBC

But he said on air that he was “told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast.”

From Los Angeles Times

“We were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert said in a scathing 6½-minute monologue.

From The Wall Street Journal

But he said he had also been "uncomfortable" when he introduced a permanent ban "because I had to look children and young people in the eye, and their parents, who told me in no uncertain terms that that decision was harmful to them".

From BBC

Related Words

• categorically
• explicitly
• plainly
• pointedly
• specifically
• unequivocally
• unmistakably