Meaning of certain in English

certain

adjective

/ˈsɜː.tən/ us

/ˈsɝː.tən/

certain adjective (WITHOUT DOUBT)

Add to word list Add to word list

having no doubt or knowing exactly that something is true, or known to be true, correct, exact, or effective:

[ + (that) ] Are you absolutely certain (that) you gave them the right number?

feel certain I feel certain (that) you're doing the right thing.

make certain You should make certain (that) everyone understands the instructions.

seem certain The police seem certain (that) they will find the people responsible for the attack.

[ + question word ] I'm not certain how much it will cost.

certain about He was quite certain about his attacker's identity.

certain of I've never been more certain of anything in my whole life.

One thing is certain - she won't resign willingly.

know/say for certain

to know or say something without doubt:

I don't know for certain if she's coming.

More examplesFewer examples

I'm absolutely certain I left my purse on the desk.
I feel certain I'm right.
He's not certain whether to invest in the property market.
Make certain that we have enough drink for the party.
It is by no means certain that we'll finish the project by June.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Confidence & self-assurance

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Certainty

certain adjective (EXTREMELY LIKELY)

impossible to avoid or extremely likely:

certain to The population explosion is certain to cause widespread famine.

Oil prices are certain to rise following the agreement to limit production.

After all his hard work, he's certain to pass his exams.

almost certain The team looks almost certain to win the match.

[ + (that) ] It is virtually certain (that) she will win the gold medal.

it is certain It is almost certain (that) there will be another vote.

make certain Even if a ceasefire can be agreed, how can they make certain (that) neither side breaks it?

Cancer sufferers no longer face certain death as they once did.

This scandal will mean certain defeat for the party in the election.

More examplesFewer examples

His execution became certain when the state board refused his request for commutation.
With Steve Lewis at the helm, we are certain of success.
Reducing the number of staff is certain to inflame the already angry medical profession.
It is by no means certain that we'll finish the project by June.
She is riding the fastest horse and is certain to romp home.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Inevitable

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Certainty

Possible and probable

certain adjective (NAMED)

[ before noun ] formal

named but neither famous nor known well:

I had lunch today with a certain Will Smith - not the Will Smith, I should explain.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Names and titles

See more results »

certain adjective (LIMITED)

[ before noun ]

limited:

to a certain extent I like modern art to a certain extent, but I don't like the really experimental stuff.

to a certain degree Technology can improve the situation to a certain degree.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Small in number and quantity

as few as something
beggarly
below
bupkis
could count something on (the fingers of) one hand idiom
low-key
measly
mild
mildness
mingy
minimal
modest
piffling
remote
scantly
slenderly
slenderness
strength
suggestion
thin

See more results »

certain

determiner

/ˈsɜː.tən/ us

/ˈsɝː.tən/

particular but not named or described:

We have certain reasons for our decision, which have to remain confidential.

Do you think war is justifiable in certain circumstances?

Certain members of the audience may disagree with what I'm about to say.

a certain

used before a noun when it is difficult to describe something exactly or give its exact amount:

The song has a certain appeal, but I'm not sure what it is.

I felt a certain sense of joy that his candidacy had failed.

I must admit that she has a certain glamour about her.

For all his fine qualities, he lacked a certain self-restraint.

It's an entertaining movie, but there's a certain predictability about it.

More examplesFewer examples

The disease seems to be specific to certain types of plant.
Some people find that certain foods trigger their headaches.
It's against the law to leave children under a certain age alone in the house.
Farmers are eligible for government support if they let a certain amount of land lie fallow.
I'm allergic to certain foods.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Particular and individual

See more results »

Idiom

of a certain age

certain

pronoun

formal

/ˈsɜː.tən/ us

/ˈsɝː.tən/

some:

certain of Certain of the candidates were well below the usual standard, but others were very good indeed.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Some and quite

See more results »

(Definition of certain from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

certain | American Dictionary

certain

adjective

/ˈsɜr·tən/

certain adjective (KNOWING TO BE TRUE)

Add to word list Add to word list

knowing that something is true or will happen and having no cause to feel that it may not be true or may not happen; having no doubt:

"I think Emily is going to pick up Judy." "Are you certain?"

One thing is certain – supporters of the bill are not giving up.

[ + (that) clause ] I’m certain (that) he’ll be there.

[ + question word ] I’m not certain how much it will cost.

When you report a robbery, make certain a police report is filled out (= check that this happens).

certain adjective (PARTICULAR)

particular but not named or described:

Parents expect their kids to leave home at a certain point.

certain adjective (LIMITED)

[ not gradable ]

some but not exactly stated; limited:

She enjoys sports to a certain extent.

There’s a certain amount of exaggeration in all ads.

certain

pronoun us

/ˈsɜrt·ən/

Charges were filed against certain of the company’s directors.

(Definition of certain from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

certain | Business English

certain

adjective

/ˈsɜːtən/ us

sum certain

Add to word list Add to word list

LAW

a particular amount of money stated in an agreement that cannot be changed:

The $10 million price is sum certain.

(Definition of certain from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of certain

certain

Because this style of counterpoint is very difficult, certain liberties are permitted.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

With pretense, disguise, and unreflective belief in disinterested philosophical analysis, philosophers can easily objectify the interests of certain power groups, whether scientific or political.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

They have established certain principles of phonetic and phonological change, and of the social motivation for change.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

This study showed that phonetic forms of certain word-based productions were highly variable.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

If we say that these values correspond to certain concepts, it must be understood that the concepts in question are purely differential.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Moreover, certain psychological phenomena suggest a structural reality underlying prototype effects.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The reasonable person standard enjoys a certain sort of objectivity, insofar as it protects people from each other.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

They will be reduced and to a certain extent they will be systematic.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The intersection between the orientation annulus and the end-effector locus represents the orientation range for a manipulator at a certain reachable workspace range.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The class of quasirandom graphs is defined by certain equivalent graph properties possessed by random graphs.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It is almost certain that such an appearance never took place.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A certain degree of division of labour took place in the production of cigarettes, but not in the production of cigars and limpiones.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

They resulted from the reflection on the possibilities of acting with certain material means; not of symbolic operations, but with those of technical operations.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In time, this repetitive attribution of a particular symbolic value to certain social actions became assumed as normative.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The casting was subject to certain theoretical restraints.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of certain?