English Explanatory Dictionary

certain

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Sure in one's mind, positive; absolutely confident in the truth of something.
  2. Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.
  3. Sure to happen, inevitable; assured.
  4. Unfailing; infallible.
  5. Fixed; regular; determinate.
  6. Particular and definite, but unspecified or unnamed; used to introduce someone or something without going into further detail.
  7. Used to denote that the speaker is referring to a specific person or thing that they do not want to name directly, implying that the listener should infer the identity of the referent.
  8. Named but not previously mentioned.
  9. Used before the name of someone famous that people are expected to know.
  10. Determined; resolved.
det
  1. Having been determined but not specified.
pron
  1. Unnamed or undescribed members (of).
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

/ˈsɜː.tən/ /ˈsɜː.tn̩/ /ˈsɝ.tən/ /ˈsɝ.tn̩/ /ˈsɝ.ʔn̩/ En-ca-certain.ogg en-us-certain.ogg

Word forms

certain more certain certainer most certain certainest certaine certayne certeine Certains

Etymology

From Middle English certeyn, certein, certain, borrowed from Old French certain, from a Vulgar Latin unattested form *certānus, extended form of Latin certus (“fixed, resolved, certain”), of the same origin as cretus, past participle of cernere (“to separate, perceive, decide”). Displaced native Middle English wis, iwis (“certain, sure”) (from Old English ġewiss (“certain, sure”)) and alternative Middle English spelling sertane (“some, certain”).

Synonyms

assured certain clear confident definite doubtless positive sicker sure unambiguous unequivocal univocal unwavering wis unavoidable one some

Antonyms

uncertain impossible incidental particular specific

Related words

intentional irrefutable fated

Derived words

certain as death and taxes certain as death or taxes certain event certainly certainness certain person certainty for certain make certain noncertain nothing is certain but death and taxes of a certain of a certain age

Translations

Arabic: أَكِيد Arabic: مُتَأَكِّد Arabic: بَعْض Armenian: հաստատուն Asturian: ciertu Azerbaijani: əmin Azerbaijani: müəyyən Belarusian: упэ́ўнены Belarusian: пэ́ўны Belarusian: які́сьці Belarusian: не́йкі Belarusian: які́сь Bulgarian: си́гурен Bulgarian: уве́рен Bulgarian: някакъв Bulgarian: някой си Catalan: cert Chamicuro: akachelo'ta Chinese Mandarin: 肯定 Chinese Mandarin: 確切 /确切 Chinese Mandarin: 一定 Chinese Mandarin: 有的 Chinese Mandarin: 某 Czech: jistý Czech: nějaký Danish: sikker Dutch: zeker Dutch: bepaald Esperanto: certa Finnish: varma Finnish: eräs Finnish: yksi French: certain French: quelconque Friulian: ciert Friulian: sigûr Friulian: positîv Georgian: უეჭველი Georgian: უდავო German: gewiss German: sicher German: irgendein Old High German: giwis Greek: βέβαιος Ancient Greek: ἔμπεδος Ancient Greek: τις Hindi: निश्चित Hungarian: biztos Hungarian: bizonyos Hungarian: egyes Hungarian: némely Hungarian: egyfajta Hungarian: egynémely Icelandic: viss Icelandic: öruggur Ido: certa Ido: certena Irish: cinnte Irish: dearfa Irish: deimhin Istriot: sierto Italian: certo Italian: sicuro Italian: tale Japanese: 確か Japanese: 一定 Japanese: 定か Japanese: 特定の Japanese: ある Khmer: ជាក់លាក់ Korean: 확실하다 Korean: 어느 Korean: 특정 Ladin: cert Ladin: cërt Latin: certus Latin: fidus Latin: quīdam Macedonian: сигурен Macedonian: уверен Maltese: ċert Māori: taketake Norwegian: sikker Norwegian: viss Occitan: cèrt Odia: ନିର୍ଦ୍ଦିଷ୍ଟ Old English: gewiss
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on C Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary