certain
Usage
What are other ways to say certain?
Certain, one of a handful of adjectives indicating full belief and trust that something is true, suggests that there are definite reasons that have freed one from doubt. Confident emphasizes the strength of the belief or the certainty of expectation felt. Positive implies emphatic certainty, which may even become overconfidence or dogmatism. Sure, the simplest and most general term, expresses mere absence of doubt.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The NBA and its sports betting partners are banning certain bets this season that are highly susceptible to manipulation.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Still, for all its impracticality, his own sturgeon pepperpot—requiring four pounds of sturgeon heads and a pound of sturgeon fillet or steak—evokes Gilded Age extravagance and makes a certain kind of historic Philadelphia statement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
And for people with certain medical histories, like having an eating disorder, being pregnant or taking a SGLT2 inhibitor, fasting isn’t a good idea.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
“They look a certain way, they talk a certain way, and that’s not the reality of what being Latino, especially in America, is like.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Maybe it would have stayed that way forever if a certain visitor had not come to The Mountain in search of a certain kind of gold.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Vocabulary lists containing certain
The Real Deal: Synonyms for "True"
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List 1
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A Sure Thing: Synonyms for "Definite"
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