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UNCERTAIN
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I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Ambiguous (especially in the negative)
Example:
she spoke in no uncertain terms
Classified under:
Similar:
ambiguous (having more than one possible meaning)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Not established beyond doubt; still undecided or unknown
Example:
without further evidence his story must remain uncertain
Classified under:
Similar:
indefinite (not decided or not known)
up in the air (very uncertain)
Also:
indeterminate; undetermined (not precisely determined or established; not fixed or known in advance)
Attribute:
certainty; foregone conclusion; sure thing (something that is certain)
Antonym:
certain (established beyond doubt or question; definitely known)
Derivation:
uncertainness (being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Lacking or indicating lack of confidence or assurance
Example:
touched the ornaments with uncertain fingers
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
ambivalent (uncertain or unable to decide about what course to follow)
doubtful; dubious (fraught with uncertainty or doubt)
groping (acting with uncertainty or hesitance or lack of confidence)
Attribute:
certainty (the state of being certain)
assurance; authority; confidence; self-assurance; self-confidence; sureness (freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities)
Antonym:
certain (having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured)
Derivation:
uncertainness (being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Not certain to occur; not inevitable
Example:
the issue is uncertain
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
chancy; flukey; fluky; iffy (subject to accident or chance or change)
contingent (uncertain because of uncontrollable circumstances)
up in the air (not yet determined)
Also:
unpredictable (not capable of being foretold)
Antonym:
certain (certain to occur; destined or inevitable)
Derivation:
uncertainness (being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Not consistent or dependable
Example:
a gun with a rather uncertain trigger
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
undependable; unreliable (not worthy of reliance or trust)
Derivation:
uncertainness (being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Not established or confirmed
Example:
his doom is as yet unsealed
Synonyms:
uncertain; unsealed
Classified under:
Adjectives
Derivation:
uncertainness (being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Subject to change
Example:
unsettled weather with rain and hail and sunshine coming one right after the other
Synonyms:
changeable; uncertain; unsettled
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
variable (liable to or capable of change)
Context examples:
I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
A low malignant potential soft tissue neoplasm of uncertain differentiation.
(Angiomatoid Fibrous Histiocytoma, NCI Thesaurus)
When Frank left us, continued he, it was quite uncertain when we might see him again, which makes this day's news doubly welcome.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
The poor man's breathing came in uncertain gasps.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
They attempted, therefore, likewise, to excuse themselves; the weather was uncertain, and not likely to be good.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
Then she was alarmed, and became uncertain whether she really was Clever Elsie or not, and said: “Is it I, or is it not I?”
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
He looked from one to the other of us, as if uncertain which to address.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
At his wife’s entreaty he had just retired from the ring, and was uncertain how he should employ himself.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Where the path ran down a great stone had been fixed in the centre of the brook, but it was too far from the bank for her aged and uncertain feet.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Her mind was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
