certain
Usage
What are other ways to say certain?
Certain, one of a handful of adjectives indicating full belief and trust that something is true, suggests that there are definite reasons that have freed one from doubt. Confident emphasizes the strength of the belief or the certainty of expectation felt. Positive implies emphatic certainty, which may even become overconfidence or dogmatism. Sure, the simplest and most general term, expresses mere absence of doubt.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At a certain point, I realized that expecting too much was unwise.
From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2026
Midfielder Mateus Fernandes has been linked with Paris St-Germain and Manchester United and seems certain to move on, with West Ham hoping for a significant profit on the £40m they paid for him last August.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
In this system, certain rotational states are physically equivalent even when they spin in opposite directions.
From Science Daily • May 24, 2026
“You’re putting money on the outcome of potential events happening or you’re betting on certain probabilities with respect to future events.”
From Salon • May 24, 2026
One thing is for certain, we were never going to find either food or water back down on that road.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
Vocabulary lists containing certain
The Real Deal: Synonyms for "True"
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List 1
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A Sure Thing: Synonyms for "Definite"
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