certain
1 of 2adjective
cer·tain ˈsər-tᵊn 
1
: fixed, settled
a certain percentage of the profit
2
: of a specific but unspecified character, quantity, or degree
the house has a certain charm
3
a
: dependable, reliable
a certain remedy for the disease
b
: known or proved to be true : indisputable
it is certain that we exist
4
a
: inevitable
the certain advance of age
b
: incapable of failing : destined —used with a following infinitive
she is certain to do well
5
: assured in mind or action
I am certain they are right
certain
2 of 2pronoun
plural in construction
: certain ones
certain of my generation
W. B. Yeats
W. B. Yeats
Synonyms
Adjective
- anonymous
- given
- one
- some
- unidentified
- unnamed
- unspecified
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Adjective I'm fairly certain that I'll be on time. a certain person told me that today is your birthday
Recent Examples on the Web Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2022 The measures aim to protect the E.U. budget by making funding conditional on certain standards. Emily Rauhala, Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2022 And the court's docket for the term that begins in October is all but certain to have major repercussions for the 2024 presidential election. Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY, 18 Sep. 2022 Of course, this country offered a refuge for many Jewish families, and American Jews like me tend to grow up with a certain optimistic image of our country. James Mcauley, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2022 That unit of cloth was equal to a certain weight of silver. Francine Russo, Scientific American, 18 Sep. 2022 For a certain strain of the British population, the loss of the Commonwealth sounds like good news. Kojo Koram, The New Republic, 18 Sep. 2022 The new annual stocking level of 1 million fish will allow the Michigan DNR to increase numbers at certain sites and reinstate stocking at some sites that were discontinued, Wesley said. Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2022 But while most of us enjoy music, there are certain people who don't just like music... Ni'kesia Pannell, Woman's Day, 17 Sep. 2022 See More
Adjective
The law passed that year provided triggers that forced the legislature to place money into the rainy day fund — rather than spending it — if personal income taxes from Wall Street stock and bond gains exceeded certain levels. Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2022 The measures aim to protect the E.U. budget by making funding conditional on certain standards. Emily Rauhala, Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2022 And the court's docket for the term that begins in October is all but certain to have major repercussions for the 2024 presidential election. Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY, 18 Sep. 2022 Of course, this country offered a refuge for many Jewish families, and American Jews like me tend to grow up with a certain optimistic image of our country. James Mcauley, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2022 That unit of cloth was equal to a certain weight of silver. Francine Russo, Scientific American, 18 Sep. 2022 For a certain strain of the British population, the loss of the Commonwealth sounds like good news. Kojo Koram, The New Republic, 18 Sep. 2022 The new annual stocking level of 1 million fish will allow the Michigan DNR to increase numbers at certain sites and reinstate stocking at some sites that were discontinued, Wesley said. Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2022 But while most of us enjoy music, there are certain people who don't just like music... Ni'kesia Pannell, Woman's Day, 17 Sep. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English certeyn, certayne, borrowed from Anglo-French certein, certain, going back to Vulgar Latin *certānus, from Latin certus "fixed, settled, indisputable," originally past participle of cernere "to sift, discern, decide, determine" (going back to an Indo-European present stem *kri-n-, verbal adjective *kri-to-, from a verbal base *krei̯̯̯(h1)- "sift, separate," whence Greek krī́nein "to separate, choose, decide," verbal adjective kritós, Welsh gogrynu "to sift") + -ānus + -an entry 2
Pronoun
Middle English certyn, derivative of certeyn certain entry 1
First Known Use
Adjective
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Pronoun
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing certain
Kids Definition
certain 1 of 2
adjective
cer·tain ˈsər-tᵊn
1
: without any doubt : sure
Are you certain you saw her?
2
: known to be true
It's certain that they were here.
3
: known but not named
A certain person told me.
4
: being fixed or settled
a certain percentage of the profit
5
: bound by the way things are
Our plan is certain to succeed.
6
: sure to have an effect
a certain cure
certain
2 of 2pronoun
: known ones that are not named
Certain of the students could work harder.
for certain
phrase
as in sure
without any question We won't know for certain until the test results come back. Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- sure
- certainly
- definitely
- surely
- really
- all right
- clearly
- so
- truly
- probably
- likely
- easily
- indeed
- for sure
- undoubtedly
- damn well
- alright
- doubtless
- unquestionably
- assuredly
- undeniably
- indisputably
- plainly
- forsooth
- possibly
- hands down
- perhaps
- inarguably
- unarguably
- incontestably
- obviously
- incontrovertibly
- conceivably
- unmistakably
- by all means
- by all odds