Adjective
uncertain (comparative more uncertain or (rare) uncertainer, superlative most uncertain or (uncommon) uncertainest)
- Not certain; unsure.
1664, John Tillotson, “Sermon I. The Wisdom of Being Religious. Job XXVIII. 28.”, in The Works of the Most Reverend Dr. John Tillotson, Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: […], 8th edition, London: […] T. Goodwin, B[enjamin] Tooke, and J. Pemberton, […]; J. Round […], and J[acob] Tonson] […], published 1720, →OCLC, page 20:Conſider man without the protection and conduct of a ſuperior Being, and he is ſecure of nothing that he enjoys in this world, and uncertain of every thing that he hopes for.
- Not known for certain; questionable.
Tomorrow's weather is uncertain.
- Not yet determined; undecided.
- Variable and subject to change.
- Fitful or unsteady.
1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], published 1915, →OCLC, chapter III (Accessory After the Fact), page 382, column 1:Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when, of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little stood like a stricken thing, quite motionless save that she quaked to her very marrow in the grasp of a great and enervating fear.
- Unpredictable or capricious.
1808 February 22, Walter Scott, “Canto Sixth. The Battle.”, in Marmion; a Tale of Flodden Field, Edinburgh: […] J[ames] Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company, […]; London: William Miller, and John Murray, →OCLC, stanza XXXI, page 362:O, woman! in our hours of ease, / Uncertain, coy, and hard to please, / And variable as the shade / By the light quivering aspen made; […]
Translations
not known for certain; questionable
- Bulgarian: неопределен (bg) (neopredelen)
- Catalan: incert (ca)
- Czech: nejistý
- Esperanto: necerta
- Finnish: epävarma (fi), kyseenalainen (fi)
- French: incertain (fr)
- Galician: incerto (gl)
- German: ungewiss (de), unsicher (de)
- Greek: αβέβαιος (el) (avévaios)
- Ancient: ἀβέβαιος (abébaios)
- Hungarian: bizonytalan (hu)
- Khmer: មិនប្រាកដប្រជា (min brakadabracha)
- Latin: incertus, ambiguus
- Macedonian: неизвесен (neizvesen)
- Maori: harapuka, taupetupetu, pōhauhau, matawaenga, hokirua, maunawenawe
- Ottoman Turkish: بللیسز (bellisiz)
- Plautdietsch: onbestemt
- Polish: niepewny (pl), nieokreślony (pl)
- Portuguese: incerto (pt)
- Romanian: nesigur (ro), incert (ro)
- Russian: неопределённый (ru) (neopredeljónnyj), нея́сный (ru) (nejásnyj), неуве́ренный (ru) (neuvérennyj) (unsure)
- Scottish Gaelic: mì-chinnteach
- Spanish: incierto (es)
- Swedish: osäker (sv), tvivelaktig (sv)
- Thai: ไม่แน่นอน (mâi-nɛ̂ɛ-nɔɔn), คลุมเคลือ (klum-krʉʉa)
- Turkish: şüpheli (tr)
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not yet determined; undecided
variable and subject to change
unpredictable or capricious
Noun
uncertain pl (plural only)
- (with "the") Something uncertain.
2011, John Lyons, The Phantom of Chance: From Fortune to Randomness in Seventeenth-Century French Literature:Thinking about the uncertain refines our perception of the certain, and generally this takes place in a framework in which the uncertain is the future and the certain is the present.