uncertain
/ʌnˈsɜɹ.tən/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.99 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Not known for certain; questionable.
adj
adj
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "Tomorrow's weather is uncertain."
- "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."
- "O, woman! in our hours of ease, / Uncertain, coy, and hard to please, / And variable as the shade / By the light quivering aspen made; […]"
- "Near-synonyms: uncertainty (countable sense), uncertainties"
- "Their approach to the uncertain is laudable: they at least want to know the upper and lower bounds for what the answer could turn out to be."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: uncerteyn
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ʌnˈsɜɹ.tən/
- British English: /ʌnˈsɜːtən/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more uncertain (comparative)
uncertainer (comparative, nonstandard)
most uncertain (superlative)
uncertainest (nonstandard, rare)