Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The condition of being uncertain; doubt.
  • noun Something uncertain.
  • noun Statistics The estimated amount or percentage by which an estimated or calculated value may differ from the true value.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The character or state of being uncertain; want of certainty.
  • noun Of persons: a state of doubt; a state in which one knows not what to think or do; hesitation; irresolution.
  • noun Something not certainly or exactly known; anything not determined, settled, or established; a contingency.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality or state of being uncertain.
  • noun That which is uncertain; something unknown.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable doubt; the condition of being uncertain or without conviction.
  • noun countable Something uncertain or ambiguous.
  • noun uncountable (mathematics) A parameter that measures the dispersion of a range of measured values.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the state of being unsure of something
  • noun being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

un- +‎ certainty.

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Examples

  • The next few hours were for me fraught with fearful anxiety and uncertainty, -- yes, _uncertainty_, -- for (to my shame, let it be recorded) I actually debated in my own mind whether or not to desert these unfortunate boys of mine, who could not themselves escape the threatened danger.

    Memories A Record of Personal Experience and Adventure During Four Years of War Fannie A. Beers

  • For example, we use the term uncertainty all the time in science.

    U.S. Scientists Urge Action On Climate Change 2010

  • This uncertainty is a big deterrent to traders eyeing Indian bourses.

    India's Futures Rush Harsh Joshi 2010

  • This uncertainty is the book's strength - although I wish that there were some note at the beginning or end to explain where fiction and history live in the story.

    Advance reader reviews of Pearl of China by Anchee Min. 2010

  • I also think that many Christians are so allergic to uncertainty that they label uncertainty (or "doubt") as flat "unbelief" (and therefore unfaithfulness).

    Easter Sunday School James F. McGrath 2009

  • Adding to the uncertainty is the fact that NBC has indicated that the long-running sudser may not be safe beyond 2009 as well as declining ratings and the fact that current storylines are … well, in a word, bad.

    Daytime Dilemma: Can Days Be Saved? | the TV addict 2007

  • Who wants to accept the fact that we are going to have a period of extreme uncertainty for some time into the future, and that investor confidence in our country has, and will, decline as long as this uncertainty is there?

    Canada's Political and Economic Problems as Seen by Premier Frank Moores of Newfoundland 1976

  • "Looking beyond short term uncertainty however, it is our firm belief that we have proved our ability to deal with unfavorable market fundamentals, and we believe we are poised to benefit from any future recovery in dry bulk shipping and continue our growth."

    unknown title 2011

  • But our being left at this uncertainty is an intimation that these things are to be understood spiritually, and that what is principally meant is that there is an exact and just proportion observed by Infinite Wisdom in modelling the gospel church, which though now we cannot discern we shall when we come to heaven.

    Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume IV (Isaiah to Malachi) 1721

  • Instead, he spoke to reporters a day later, and told them he was resigning because of what he termed uncertainty with the ownership situation.

    Latest News 2009

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