| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| certain |
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| SYLLABICATION: | cer·tain |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  sûr tn |
| ADJECTIVE: | 1. Definite; fixed: set aside a certain sum each week. 2. Sure to come or happen; inevitable: certain success. 3. Established beyond doubt or question; indisputable: What is certain is that every effect must have a cause. 4. Capable of being relied on; dependable: a quick and certain remedy. 5. Having or showing confidence; assured. 6a. Not specified or identified but assumed to be known: felt that certain breeds did not make good pets. b. Named but not known or previously mentioned: a certain Ms. Johnson. 7. Perceptible; noticeable: a certain charm; a certain air of mystery. 8. Not great; calculable: to a certain degree; a certain delay in the schedule. | | PRONOUN: | An indefinite but limited number; some: Certain of the products are faulty. | | IDIOM: | for certain Without doubt; definitely. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *cert nus, from Latin certus, past participle of cernere, to determine. See krei- in Appendix I. | | SYNONYMS: | certain, inescapable, inevitable, sure, unavoidable These adjectives mean impossible to avoid or evade: soldiers who knew they faced certain death; facts that led to an inescapable conclusion; an inevitable result; sudden but sure retribution; an unavoidable accident. See also synonyms at sure. | | USAGE NOTE: | Although certain appears to be an absolute term, it is frequently qualified by adverbs, as in fairly certain or quite certain. In an earlier survey a majority of the Usage Panel accepted the construction Nothing could be more certain.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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