Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,524,818,055 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

uncertainty
(redirected from uncertainties)

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Wikipedia 0.12 sec.
un·cer·tain·ty  (n-sûrtn-t)
n. pl. un·cer·tain·ties
1. The condition of being uncertain; doubt.
2. Something uncertain: the uncertainties of modern life.
3. Statistics The estimated amount or percentage by which an observed or calculated value may differ from the true value.
Synonyms: uncertainty, doubt, dubiety, skepticism, suspicion, mistrust
These nouns refer to the condition of being unsure about someone or something. Uncertainty, the least forceful, merely denotes a lack of assurance or conviction: I regarded my decision with growing uncertainty.
Doubt and dubiety imply a questioning state of mind: "Doubt is part of all religion" (Isaac Bashevis Singer). On this point there can be no dubiety.
Skepticism generally suggests an instinctive or habitual tendency to question and demand proof: "A wise skepticism is the first attribute of a good critic" (James Russell Lowell).
Suspicion is doubt as to the innocence, truth, integrity, honesty, or soundness of someone or something: His furtiveness aroused my suspicions.
Mistrust denotes lack of trust or confidence, as in a person's motives, arising from suspicion: The staff viewed the consultant's hasty recommendations with mistrust.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.uncertaintyuncertainty - being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance; "the uncertainty of the outcome"; "the precariousness of his income"
quality - an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; "the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare
doubt, doubtfulness, dubiousness, question - uncertainty about the truth or factuality or existence of something; "the dubiousness of his claim"; "there is no question about the validity of the enterprise"
indefiniteness, indefinity, indeterminacy, indeterminateness, indetermination - the quality of being vague and poorly defined
unpredictability - lacking predictability
improbability, improbableness - the quality of being improbable; "impossibility should never be confused with improbability"; "the improbability of such rare coincidences"
fortuitousness - the quality of happening accidentally and by lucky chance
speculativeness - the quality of being a conclusion or opinion based on supposition and conjecture rather than on fact or investigation; "her work is highly contentious because of its speculativeness and lack of supporting evidence"
sure thing, certainty, foregone conclusion - something that is certain; "his victory is a certainty"
2.uncertaintyuncertainty - the state of being unsure of something
cognitive state, state of mind - the state of a person's cognitive processes
arriere pensee, mental reservation, reservation - an unstated doubt that prevents you from accepting something wholeheartedly
distrust, mistrust, suspicion, misgiving - doubt about someone's honesty
disbelief, incredulity, mental rejection, skepticism - doubt about the truth of something
indecision, indecisiveness, irresolution - doubt concerning two or more possible alternatives or courses of action; "his indecision was only momentary but the opportunity was lost"
peradventure - doubt or uncertainty as to whether something is the case; "this proves beyond peradventure that he is innocent"
suspense - an uncertain cognitive state; "the matter remained in suspense for several years"
certainty - the state of being certain; "his certainty reassured the others"

uncertainty
noun 3. hesitancy, hesitation, indecision, lack of confidence, vagueness, irresolution
Translations
uncertainty [ʌnˈsəːtntɪ] nincertidumbre f
uncertainty [ʌnˈsəːtntɪ] uncertain nincertitude f, doutes mpl
uncertainty [ʌnˈsəːtntɪ] uncertain nUngewissheit f;
uncertainties npl (= doubts) → Unsicherheiten pl
uncertainty [ʌnˈsəːtntɪ] nincertezza


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.