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indeterminacy

American  
[in-di-tur-muh-nuh-see] / ˌɪn dɪˈtɜr mə nə si /

noun

  1. the condition or quality of being indeterminate; indetermination.


Etymology

Origin of indeterminacy

First recorded in 1640–50; indetermin(ate) + -acy


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:

When attached to a character, indeterminacy manifests itself as confusion, and the novel mines a lot of humor from the bumbling of its poet-antihero.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

To make that happen, Viola needed faith in indeterminacy, which is at the heart of what made Tudor so fascinating.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2024

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson likewise complained about “a lot of indeterminacy in this set of facts,” noting that “we’re not quite sure who it covers.”

From Slate ● Feb. 26, 2024

The dual and dueling narrators lend the events of the book a high level of indeterminacy that proves both mysterious and entertaining.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 4, 2022

In these cases, one mixes pseudorandom numbers from several computers, then incorporates the physical indeterminacy of randomly fluctuating voltages from a “white noise” source.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

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