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.
Those of us of a certain age can remember the middle-class suburban home of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026
Matarazzo couldn’t shake what he called “a drive to fulfill a certain curiosity that I had growing up.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
I've always found the surname has brought a certain level of shame, embarrassment and guilt.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
Another, more controversial, idea is for the Fed to pay a lower interest rate on bank reserves above a certain threshold, Duffie said.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026
In Mama’s day married women—and unmarried ones “of a certain age”—wore black from the chin to the ground.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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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