for certain

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Idioms

11.

for certain, without a doubt; surely: I know for certain that I have seen that face before.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Vulgar Latin *certānus, equivalent to Latin cert(us) sure, settled (cer- base of cernere to decide, + -tus past participle suffix) + -ānus -an

Synonyms
1. convinced, satisfied. See sure. 4. indubitable, incontestable, irrefutable, incontrovertible, obvious, plain, clear. 5. determined.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source

Link To for certain

Collins

World English Dictionary

certain (ˈsɜːt^ən)

—*adj*
1.	(postpositive) positive and confident about the truth of something; convinced: I am certain that he wrote a book
2.	(usually postpositive) definitely known: it is certain that they were on the bus
3.	(usually postpositive) sure; bound; destined: he was certain to fail
4.	decided or settled upon; fixed: the date is already certain for the invasion
5.	unfailing; reliable: his judgment is certain
6.	moderate or minimum: to a certain extent
7.	make certain of to ensure (that one will get something); confirm

—*adv*
8.	for certain definitely; without a doubt: he will win for certain

—*determiner*
9.	a. known but not specified or named: certain people may doubt this
	b. (as pronoun; functioning as plural): certain of the members have not paid their subscriptions
10.	named but not known: he had written to a certain Mrs Smith

[C13: from Old French, from Latin certus sure, fixed, from cernere to discern, decide]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

certain

c.1300, "determined, fixed," from O.Fr. certain, from V.L. *certanus, from L. certus "sure, fixed," originally a variant pp. of cernere "to distinguish, decide," originally "to sift, separate" (see crisis). Certainer, certainest were common to c.1750, but have fallen from proper use for some reason.

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

for certain

Also, for sure. Without doubt. For example, I can't tell for certain if this is the right color, or I know for sure that she has a new car. The first term dates from the early 1300s. The variant, dating from the late 1500s, is also used colloquially to express agreement or assert the truth of a statement, as in Mary is really bossy.That's for sure, or Are you coming to the party?For sure I am.

Matching Quote

"The general feeling was, and for a long time remained, that one had several children in order to keep just a few. As late as the seventeenth century . . . people could not allow themselves to become too attached to something that was regarded as a probable loss. This is the reason for certain remarks which shock our present-day sensibility, such as Montaigne's observation, "I have lost two or three children in their infancy, not without regret, but without great sorrow.""

-Philippe Ariés

Use Dictionary.com faster without ads >>

for certain

cer·tain