Uncertain

//ʌnˈsɜːtən// adj, noun

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Not certain; unsure.

    "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."

  2. 2
    Not known for certain; questionable.

    "Tomorrow's weather is uncertain."

  3. 3
    Not yet determined; undecided.
  4. 4
    Variable and subject to change.
  5. 5
    Fitful or unsteady.

    "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."

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  1. 6
    Unpredictable or capricious.

    "O, woman! in our hours of ease, / Uncertain, coy, and hard to please, / And variable as the shade / By the light quivering aspen made; […]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    ambiguous (especially in the negative) wordnet
  2. 2
    not established beyond doubt; still undecided or unknown wordnet
  3. 3
    lacking or indicating lack of confidence or assurance wordnet
  4. 4
    not certain to occur; not inevitable wordnet
  5. 5
    not consistent or dependable wordnet
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  1. 6
    not established or confirmed wordnet
  2. 7
    subject to change wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    Something uncertain. plural, plural-only, with-definite-article

    "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."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English uncerteyn. By surface analysis, un- + certain.

Etymology 2

From Middle English uncerteyn. By surface analysis, un- + certain.

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