ENGLISH
REFERENCE

uncertainty

n. C / U
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford US //ənˈsɝtənti// UK //ʌnsˈɜːtənti// un·cer·tain·ty General-service

n. a situation where you are not sure what will happen or what the truth is. It often feels like a lack of clarity about the future.

n. a state of limited knowledge where it is impossible to exactly describe the existing state, a future outcome, or more than one possible result. Often used in scientific contexts to refer to the estimated range of error in a measurement.


SIMPLE

There is a lot of uncertainty about the new job.

CONTEXTUAL

The sudden change in leadership created a period of deep uncertainty for the company's investors.

COMPLEX

Economists warned that prolonged political uncertainty could discourage foreign investment and lead to a stagnation of the national growth rate over the next fiscal year.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From Middle English uncerteynte; equivalent to un- + certainty or uncertain + -ty.

Usage

Uncountable when referring to the general state of being unsure; countable when referring to specific doubts or unknown factors.

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