What does uncertainty mean?
Definitions for uncertainty
ʌnˈsɜr tn tiun·cer·tain·ty
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word uncertainty.
Princeton's WordNet
uncertainty, uncertainness, precariousnessnoun
being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance
"the uncertainty of the outcome"; "the precariousness of his income"
doubt, uncertainty, incertitude, dubiety, doubtfulness, dubiousnessnoun
the state of being unsure of something
Wiktionary
uncertaintynoun
doubt; the condition of being uncertain or without conviction.
uncertaintynoun
Something uncertain or ambiguous.
uncertaintynoun
A parameter that measures the dispersion of a range of measured values.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Uncertaintynoun
All great concernments must delays endure;
Rashness and haste make all things unsecure;
And if uncertain thy pretensions be,
Stay till fit time wear out uncertainty. John Denham.You common cry of curs, whose breath I hate,
Here then remain with your uncertainty;
Let ev’ry feeble rumour shake your hearts. William Shakespeare.That which makes doubtfulness and uncertainty in the signification of some, more than other words, is the difference of ideas they stand for. John Locke.
God’s omniscience is a light shining into every dark corner, stedfastly grasping the greatest and most slippery uncertainties. Robert South, Sermons.
Our shepherd’s case is every man’s case, that quits a moral certainty for an uncertainty, and leaps from the honest business he was brought up to, into a trade he has no skill in. Roger L'Estrange.
ChatGPT
uncertainty
Uncertainty refers to the state of being uncertain or unsure, lacking complete certainty or absolute knowledge about something. This mainly occurs due to the lack of information, predictability, or clarity, leading to ambiguity or potential outcomes being unpredictable or unknown. In various fields such as physics, economics, statistics, and philosophy, uncertainty has specific interpretations but generally, it conveys similar notions of doubt, variability, and risk.
Webster Dictionary
Uncertaintynoun
the quality or state of being uncertain
Uncertaintynoun
that which is uncertain; something unknown
Wikidata
Uncertainty
Uncertainty is a term used in subtly different ways in a number of fields, including physics, philosophy, statistics, economics, finance, insurance, psychology, sociology, engineering, and information science. It applies to predictions of future events, to physical measurements that are already made, or to the unknown.
U.S. National Library of Medicine
Uncertainty
The condition in which reasonable knowledge regarding risks, benefits, or the future is not available.
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'uncertainty' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4149
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'uncertainty' in Nouns Frequency: #1514
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of uncertainty in Chaldean Numerology is: 1
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of uncertainty in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
Examples of uncertainty in a Sentence
Chief Executive Officer Murilo Ferreira:
We are prepared to confront the challenges of 2016 caused by demand uncertainty and commodities price volatility, we are expecting to go cash-flow positive starting in 2017 while gradually reducing our debt and increasing dividends.
The 'leave' outcome has introduced substantial uncertainty that likely would dampen U.S. growth by delaying and or reducing business investment and consumption expenditures.
Markets are quite likely to muddle through from here, the vaccine is increasingly priced in. A couple of months ago, no one knew how deep coronavirus would be, or what the outcome of the election was. Now both sources of uncertainty have been removed.
There are several factors pushing financial shares lower today, but uncertainty over the meaning of Zhou Xiaochuan's comments for the equity market is one.
That high level of trade uncertainty is causing manufacturing firms to be reticent to make investments. That high degree of uncertainty is a drag on U.S. growth, the real issue is that China wants respect. China wants a face-saving way of coming to the table.
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References
Translations for uncertainty
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"uncertainty." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 15 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/uncertainty>.
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