1
as in one
known but not named a certain person told me that today is your birthday

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
3
4
5
as in reliable
not likely to fail chicken soup is grandma's certain cure for pretty much whatever ails you

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

6

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective certain contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of certain are cocksure, positive, and sure. While all these words mean "having no doubt or uncertainty," certain may apply to a basing of a conclusion or conviction on definite grounds or indubitable evidence.

police are certain about the cause of the fire

When would cocksure be a good substitute for certain?

In some situations, the words cocksure and certain are roughly equivalent. However, cocksure implies presumptuous or careless positiveness.

you're always so cocksure about everything

When is it sensible to use positive instead of certain?

While the synonyms positive and certain are close in meaning, positive intensifies sureness or certainty and may imply opinionated conviction or forceful expression of it.

I'm positive that's the person I saw

When could sure be used to replace certain?

The words sure and certain are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, sure usually stresses the subjective or intuitive feeling of assurance.

felt sure that I had forgotten something

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of certain Visits to these areas are only permitted to take place within certain hours. Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025 Citing his mission as one of fiscal discipline, Musk has led the DOGE effort to eliminate certain federal offices, slash regulations and rapidly cut down the federal workforce, while reprogramming or removing some government websites, software and systems. Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 28 May 2025 Last-minute negotiations resulted in eligibility protection for SNAP access for people with green cards, certain Cubans, and people residing in the U.S. under the Compacts of Free Association (COFA), which includes people from Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands. Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 28 May 2025 The arc of the subject’s life is evoked through steadily darkening, tightening mood, with certain scenes and setups replicated to variously despairing effect, from tacitly shifting points of view. Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for certain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for certain
Adjective
  • Drinkwater didn't make one appearance in a Chelsea shirt last season, whilst Bakayoko spent the season in Italy on loan at AC Milan.
    SI.com, SI.com, 3 Aug. 2019
  • Decisions made by engineers today, in other words, will determine not how one car drives but how all cars drive.
    Johannes Himmelreich, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Mar. 2018
Adjective
  • Grand Canyon's a big day, for sure, but this was completely out of the blue.
    Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 24 May 2025
  • The director is a compound of desire and calculation—an artist, for sure, but an artist in a medium that requires large amounts of money from people in power.
    David Denby, New Yorker, 23 May 2025
Adjective
  • The threat of severe weather is conditional on the position of a warm front in the area and whether temperatures are too cool and stable for storms to develop.
    Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 23 May 2025
  • The component loadout is good for the price, with 16GB of RAM making multi-tasking smooth and stable.
    K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 23 May 2025
Adjective
  • Nothing of the sort is necessary for Barkov, whose reputation as the best two-way center in the league (at least based on Selke voting) is deserved.
    The Athletic NHL Staff, New York Times, 31 May 2025
  • More than 60% of homeowners in both areas are willing to forgo customization of their new homes if financial compromises are necessary.
    Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2025
Adjective
  • The problem with inland water Environmental scientists have a reliable way of monitoring the water quality at popular coastal beaches, often by taking samples on a daily or weekly basis.
    Angela Haupt, Time, 23 May 2025
  • To be fair to les frères Dardennes, there is a reliable level of unshowy competence as well as an integrity to their insistence on embedding with unglamorous, recognizable people.
    Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 23 May 2025
Adjective
  • There’s a definite purity-politics flavor to any suggestion that people should take a moral stand and leave a social network, but also a pretty airtight case to be made for boycotting it.
    Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 23 May 2025
  • Having an outdoor dog or cat creates a definite warning for rabbits to stay away.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 21 May 2025
Adjective
  • The big story Just a week after a breakthrough in U.S.-China trade tensions, neither side can yet be confident that the other is holding up their end of the bargain.
    Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 21 May 2025
  • The club, for their part, are confident they will be granted entry.
    Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 21 May 2025
Adjective
  • One of his final appearances was a 2020 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
    Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 29 May 2025
  • Thompson announced midway through last season that 2024 would be her final year as a 'full-time professional golfer'.
    Julio Cesar Valdera Morales, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Certain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/certain. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

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