certain

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

adj. some; specified. See quantity, speciality, certainty.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

1. [Confident]

Syn. assured, sure, positive, questionless, satisfied, self-confident, undoubting, unwavering, believing, secure, untroubled, unconcerned, undisturbed, unperturbed, convinced, assertive, cocksure; see also calm 1 , confident 2 .

2. [Sure]

Syn. destined, determined, predestined; see inevitable .

3. [Beyond doubt]

Syn. indisputable, unquestionable, assured, positive, real, true, genuine, plain, clear, undoubted, indubitable, guaranteed, unmistakable, unassailable, sure, incontrovertible, undeniable, definite, supreme, unqualified, infallible, undisputed, unerring, sound, reliable, trustworthy, evident, conclusive, decisive, unambiguous, authoritative, irrefutable, unconditional, incontestable, unquestioned, absolute, unequivocal, inescapable, in the bag*, on ice*; see also accurate 1 .

Ant. doubtful, uncertain, dubious.

4. [Dependable]

Syn. trustworthy, safe, sound; see reliable 2 .

5. [Fixed]

Syn. settled, concluded, set, agreed upon; see definite 1 , determined 1 .

6. [Specific but not named]

Syn. special, marked, specified, defined, one, some, a few, a couple, several, appreciable, upwards of, regular, particular, singular, especial, precise, specific, express; see also definite 1 , individual 1 , special 1 .

• be certain,

Syn. be sure, have confidence, feel sure, be confident, have no doubt, make certain; see also know 1 .

• for certain,

Syn. without doubt, absolutely, certainly; see surely .

Syn.- certain usually suggests conviction based on specific grounds or evidence [ this letter makes me certain of his innocence ] ; sure suggests merely an absence of doubt or hesitancy [ I'm sure you don't mean it ] ; confident stresses the firmness of one's certainty or sureness, esp. in some expectation [ she's confident she'll win ] ; positive suggests unshakable confidence, esp. in the correctness of one's opinions or conclusions, sometimes to the point of dogmatism [ he's too positive in his beliefs ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

1. sure positive, cocksure, convinced, undoubting, assured, satisfied.

2. unquestionable doubtless, *beyond a shadow of a doubt, indubitable, definite, indisputable, incontestable, unequivocal, incontrovertible, firm, unambiguous.

ANT.: 1. uncertain, unsure, doubting. 2. questionable, doubtful, *up in the air

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective 1. In a definite and final form; not likely to change: firm1, fixed, flat, set1. See CHANGE. 2. Bound to happen: inescapable, inevitable, sure, unavoidable. See CERTAIN. 3. Established beyond a doubt: hard, inarguable, incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, irrefutable, positive, sure, unassailable, undeniable, undisputable, unquestionable. See CERTAIN, TRUE. 4. Known positively: definite, positive, sure. Idiom: for certain. See CERTAIN. 5. Such as could not possibly fail or disappoint: infallible, secure, sure, unerring, unfailing. Informal: sure-fire. See CERTAIN. 6. Having no doubt: assured, confident, positive, sure, undoubting. See CERTAIN.