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uncertainty - 3 dictionary results

un⋅cer⋅tain⋅ty

  [uhn-sur-tn-tee]
Use uncertainty in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ties for 2.
1. the state of being uncertain; doubt; hesitancy: His uncertainty gave impetus to his inquiry.
2. an instance of uncertainty, doubt, etc.
3. unpredictability; indeterminacy; indefiniteness.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME uncerteynte; see un- 1 , certainty

Synonyms:
1. hesitation, irresolution, indecision, ambivalence.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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un·cer·tain·ty   (ŭn-sûr'tn-tē)   
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: 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Uncertainty

Un*cer"tain*ty\, n.; pl. Uncertainties. 1. The quality or state of being uncertain.

2. That which is uncertain; something unknown.

Our shepherd's case is every man's case that quits a moral certainty for an uncertainty. --L'Estrange.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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