noun
uncertainty
uhn-SUR-tuhn-tee
noun
1
A state of doubt or lack of sureness about something.
"The uncertainty over her diagnosis kept the whole family on edge."
2
In science and statistics, a measure of how much a value might vary or be inexact.
"The reported measurement has an uncertainty of plus or minus two millimetres."
How to Use Uncertainty
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishNot knowing for sure — either in everyday life or as a technical measure of how precise a number is.
Common pairings
deal with uncertainty
a sense of uncertainty
margin of uncertainty
Word Forms
uncertainties plural
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The _____ over her diagnosis kept the whole family on edge.
Etymology
From Middle English uncerteynte, from un- + certainty.