certain

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English Vietnamese dictionary

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Advanced English dictionary

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adjective, pronoun
+ adjective
1 ~ (that ...)
~ (to do sth)
~ (of sth / of doing sth) that you can rely on to happen or to be true: It is certain that they will agree / They are certain to agree. + She looks certain to win an Oscar. + The climbers face certain death if the rescue today is unsuccessful. + If you want to be certain of getting a ticket, book now. - SURE
2 ~ (that ...)
~ (of / about sth) firmly believing sth; having no doubts: She wasn't certain (that) he had seen her. + Are you absolutely certain about this? + I'm not certain who was there. + To my certain knowledge he was somewhere else at the time (= I am sure about it).
3 used to mention a particular thing, person or group without giving any more details about it or them: For certain personal reasons I shall not be able to attend. + Certain people might disagree with this. + They refused to release their hostages unless certain conditions were met.
4 (formal) used when mentioning a person who has been named, but who is not known: It was a certain Dr Davis who performed the operation.
5 slight; noticeable, but difficult to describe: That's true, to a certain extent. + I felt there was a certain coldness in her manner.
Idioms: for certain without doubt: I can't say for certain when we'll arrive.
make certain (that ...) to find out whether sth is definitely true: I think there's a bus at 8 but you'd better call to make certain.
make certain of sth / of doing sth to do sth in order to be sure that sth else will happen: You'll have to leave soon to make certain of getting there on time.
+ pronoun (certain of ...) (formal) used for talking about some members of a group of people or things without giving their names: Certain of those present were unwilling to discuss the matter further.

Thesaurus dictionary

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adj.

1 determined, set, fixed, predetermined, decided, settled, firm, stable, invariable, established, standard, constant, unchanging, steady, unfluctuating, non-fluctuating, traditional:

He agreed to pay a certain yearly rent. She met him there every day at a certain time.

2 sure, unerring, definite, dependable, trustworthy, unfailing, infallible, reliable, assured, guaranteed:

How do you know that the dividend is certain?

3 sure, inevitable, inescapable, destined, predestined, ineluctable, inexorable, unavoidable, definite, firm; unchanging, changeless, infallible, permanent, Colloq on the cards, a sure thing, US in the cards:

It is not always certain that justice will triumph. Nothing is certain but death and taxes.

4 indubitable, indisputable, undisputed, undoubted, sure, doubtless, unequivocal, incontestable, undeniable, incontrovertible, absolute, irrefutable, unquestionable, unquestioned, unarguable, valid:

It is certain only that we exist, according to Descartes.

5 confident; assured, sure, positive, definite:

I am certain that she did not steal the money.

6 specific, particular, definite; unnamed, unspecified, non-specified, non-specific:

He gave us certain information which we now have reason to doubt.

Collocation dictionary

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VERBS

be, feel, look, seem

Digby looked certain to be the next president.

| become, grow

I grew more and more certain that she was lying to me.

| make

Make certain that you lock the door if you go out.

ADV.

very | absolutely, quite | by no means

It's by no means certain that she'll get the job.

| almost | fairly, pretty

PREP.

about/of

Are you quite certain about this?

PHRASES

can't/couldn't say for certain

I think she's a teacher, but I couldn't say for certain.

| not know for certain

I don't know for certain how many people are coming.

Concise English dictionary

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'sɜːtn
adj.
+definite but not specified or identified
+having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
+established beyond doubt or question; definitely known
+certain to occur; destined or inevitable
+established irrevocably
+reliable in operation or effect
+exercising or taking care great enough to bring assurance