What is the difference between certainly and certain?
certainly | certain |
In a way which is certain; with certainty.
*, I.iii.2.2:
*:he verily thought he had young live frogs in his belly, qui vivebant ex alimento suo , that lived by his nourishment, and was so certainly persuaded of it, that for many years following he could not be rectified in his conceit.
Without doubt, surely.
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*:So this was my future home, I thought! Certainly it made a brave picture. I had seen similar ones fired-in on many a Heidelberg stein. Backed by towering hills,a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=(Gary Younge)
, volume=188, issue=26, page=18, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= An emphatic affirmative answer; of course.
:
Sure, positive, not doubting.
(obsolete) Determined; resolved.
* Milton
Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.
* Bible, Dan. ii. 45
Actually existing; sure to happen; inevitable.
* Dryden
* Shakespeare
Unfailing; infallible.
* Mead
Fixed or stated; regular; determinate.
* Bible, Ex. xvi. 4
Not specifically named; indeterminate; indefinite; one or some; sometimes used independently as a noun, and meaning certain persons.
* Bible, Luke v. 12
* Macaulay
Having been determined but unspecified. The quality of some particular subject or object which is known by the speaker to have been specifically singled out among similar entities of its class.
* Bible, Acts xxiii. 12
* , title=The Mirror and the Lamp
, chapter=3
Certain is a derived term of certainly.
As an adverb certainly
is in a way which is certain; with certainty.As an adjective certain is
sure, positive, not doubting.As a determiner certain is
having been determined but unspecified. The quality of some particular subject or object which is known by the speaker to have been specifically singled out among similar entities of its class.certainly
English
Adverb
(en adverb)Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution, passage=WikiLeaks did not cause these uprisings but it certainly informed them. The dispatches revealed details of corruption and kleptocracy that many Tunisians suspected, but could not prove, and would cite as they took to the streets.}}
Synonyms
* absolutely, beyond doubt, indubitably, sure thing, undoubtedly, wis, without a doubtCoordinate terms
* maybe, possibly, arguably, questionably, probably, perhapsDerived terms
* most certainlyReferences
* *certain
English
Adjective
(wikipedia certain) (en adjective)- I was certain of my decision.
- However, I with thee have fixed my lot, / Certain to undergo like doom.
- The dream is certain , and the interpretation thereof sure.
- Bankruptcy is the certain outcome of your constant gambling and lending.
- Virtue that directs our ways / Through certain dangers to uncertain praise.
- Death, as the Psalmist saith, is certain to all.
- I have often wished that I knew as certain a remedy for any other distemper.
- The people go out and gather a certain rate every day.
- It came to pass when he was in a certain city.
- About everything he wrote there was a certain natural grace and decorum.
Synonyms
* See alsoAntonyms
* (not doubting) uncertain * (sure to happen) impossible, incidentalDerived terms
* certainlyDeterminer
(en determiner)- Certain of the Jews banded together.
citation, passage=One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.”}}
