Standard Lemma guide

uncertainty

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ʌnˈsɜːtənti/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada, General-American: /ʌnˈsɝtənti/
  • California, Southern: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /ɐnˈsɜːtənti/
  • New-Zealand: /ɐnˈsøːtənti/
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 N S ER1 T AH0 N T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Doubt; the condition of being uncertain or without conviction.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Something uncertain or ambiguous.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A parameter that measures the dispersion of a range of measured values.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: mathematics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the uncertainty of the outcome
  • the precariousness of his income

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: uncertainness, precariousness

Antonyms: certainty

Broader terms: quality

Narrower terms: doubt, dubiousness, doubtfulness, question, indefiniteness, indeterminateness, indefinity, indetermination, indeterminacy, unpredictability, improbability, improbableness, fortuitousness, speculativeness

5

noun

Meaning 5

the state of being unsure of something

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: doubt, incertitude, dubiety, doubtfulness, dubiousness

Antonyms: certainty

Broader terms: cognitive state, state of mind

Narrower terms: mental reservation, reservation, arriere pensee, misgiving, mistrust, distrust, suspicion, incredulity, disbelief, skepticism, mental rejection, indecision, indecisiveness, irresolution, peradventure, suspense

History

Etymology

From Middle English uncerteynte; equivalent to un- + certainty or uncertain + -ty.

Across languages

Translations

63 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: няўпэўненасць (njawpewnjenascʹ) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Belarusian: сумнеў (sumnjew) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Belarusian: паняверка (panjavjerka) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Bulgarian: несигурност (nesigurnost) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Catalan: incertesa — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不确定性 (bù què dìng xìng) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Czech: nejistota — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Danish: usikkerhed — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Dutch: onzekerheid — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Esperanto: necerteco — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Esperanto: malcerteco — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Finnish: epävarmuus — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • French: incertitude — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Galician: incerteza — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Georgian: გაურკვევლობა (gaurḳvevloba) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • German: Unsicherheit — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • German: Ungewissheit — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Greek: αβεβαιότητα (avevaiótita) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Ancient Greek: ἀδηλότης (adēlótēs) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Hanunoo: alangan — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Hindi: संदेह (sandeh) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Hindi: संशय (sañśay) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Hindi: अनिश्चय (aniścay) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Hungarian: bizonytalanság — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Italian: incertezza — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Korean: 불확실 (bulhwaksil) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Latin: incertum — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Malay: ketidakpastian — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Māori: kumukumu — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: uvisse — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Polish: niepewność — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Portuguese: incerteza — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Romanian: incertitudine — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Romanian: nesiguranță — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Russian: неуве́ренность (neuvérennostʹ) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Russian: сомне́ние (somnénije) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Scottish Gaelic: mì-chinnt — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Spanish: incertidumbre — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Spanish: incerteza — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Spanish: incertitud — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Spanish: incertinidad — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Swedish: osäkerhet — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Tagalog: dikatiyakan — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Thai: ความไม่แน่นอน — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Turkish: belirsizlik — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Turkish: muğlaklık — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Ottoman Turkish: بللیسزلك (bellisizlik) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Ukrainian: невпе́вненість (nevpévnenistʹ) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Ukrainian: непе́вність (nepévnistʹ) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • Ukrainian: неви́значеність (nevýznačenistʹ) — doubt; the condition of being uncertain
  • German: Unsicherheit — something uncertain or ambiguous
  • Hindi: अनिश्चितता (aniścittā) — something uncertain or ambiguous
  • Hindi: अनिश्चय (aniścay) — something uncertain or ambiguous
  • Korean: 불확실한 것 (bulhwaksilhan geot) — something uncertain or ambiguous
  • Malay: ketidakpastian — something uncertain or ambiguous
  • Portuguese: incerteza — something uncertain or ambiguous
  • Russian: неуве́ренность (neuvérennostʹ) — something uncertain or ambiguous
  • Russian: нея́сность (nejásnostʹ) — something uncertain or ambiguous
  • Russian: неопределённость (neopredeljónnostʹ) — something uncertain or ambiguous
  • Russian: погре́шность (pogréšnostʹ) — mathematics: a parameter that measures the dispersion
  • Russian: нето́чность (netóčnostʹ) — mathematics: a parameter that measures the dispersion
  • Russian: неопределённость (neopredeljónnostʹ) — mathematics: a parameter that measures the dispersion
  • Tagalog: dikatiyakan — mathematics: a parameter that measures the dispersion
Real reading context

uncertainty in complete knowledge articles