cer·tain   (sûr'tn)    adj.   Definite; fixed: set aside a certain sum each week. Sure to come or happen; inevitable: certain success. Established beyond doubt or question; indisputable: What is certain is that every effect must have a cause. Capable of being relied on; dependable: a quick and certain remedy. Having or showing confidence; assured. Not specified or identified but assumed to be known: felt that certain breeds did not make good pets. Named but not known or previously mentioned: a certain Ms. Johnson. Perceptible; noticeable: a certain charm; a certain air of mystery. Not great; calculable: to a certain degree; a certain delay in the schedule. pron.  An indefinite but limited number; some: Certain of the products are faulty. [Middle English, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *certānus, from Latin certus, past participle of cernere, to determine; see krei- in Indo-European roots.] Synonyms: These adjectives mean impossible to avoid or evade: soldiers who knew they faced certain death; facts that led to an inescapable conclusion; an inevitable result; sudden but sure retribution; an unavoidable accident. See Also Synonyms at sure. Usage Note: Although certain appears to be an absolute term, it is frequently qualified by adverbs, as in fairly certain or quite certain. In an earlier survey a majority of the Usage Panel accepted the construction Nothing could be more certain.

Certain

Cer"tain\, a. [F. certain, fr. (assumed) LL. certanus, fr. L. certus determined, fixed, certain, orig. p. p. of cernere to perceive, decide, determine; akin to Gr. ? to decide, separate, and to E. concern, critic, crime, riddle a sieve, rinse, v.]

1. Assured in mind; having no doubts; free from suspicions concerning.

To make her certain of the sad event. --Dryden.

I myself am certain of you. --Wyclif.

2. Determined; resolved; -- used with an infinitive.

However, I with thee have fixed my lot, Certain to undergo like doom. --Milton.

3. Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.

The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. --Dan. ii. 45.

4. Actually existing; sure to happen; inevitable.

Virtue that directs our ways Through certain dangers to uncertain praise. --Dryden.

Death, as the Psalmist saith, is certain to all. --Shak.

5. Unfailing; infallible.

I have often wished that I knew as certain a remedy for any other distemper. --Mead.

6. Fixed or stated; regular; determinate.

The people go out and gather a certain rate every day. --Ex. xvi. 4.

7. Not specifically named; indeterminate; indefinite; one or some; -- sometimes used independenty as a noun, and meaning certain persons.

It came to pass when he was in a certain city. --Luke. v. 12.

About everything he wrote there was a certain natural grace und decorum. --Macaulay.

For certain, assuredly.

Of a certain, certainly.

Syn: Bound; sure; true; undeniable; unquestionable; undoubted; plain; indubitable; indisputable; incontrovertible; unhesitating; undoubting; fixed; stated.

certain 

certain

see for certain.