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Certainty vs Contingency - What's the difference?

certainty | contingency |

As nouns the difference between certainty and contingency

is that certainty is the state of being certain while contingency is the quality of being contingent, of happening by chance; unpredictability.

certainty

English

Noun

  • The state of being certain.
  • * Fisher Ames
  • The certainty of punishment is the truest security against crimes.
  • An instance of being certain.
  • A fact or truth unquestionably established.
  • * November 2 2014 , Daniel Taylor, " Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk
  • Yet the truth is that City would probably have been coasting by that point if the referee, Michael Oliver, had not turned down three separate penalties, at least two of which could be accurately described as certainties .
  • * 1824 , (Walter Savage Landor), Imaginary Conversations Volume 1
  • Certainties are uninteresting and sating.

    Synonyms

    * (state of being certain) certitude

    Antonyms

    * (state of being certain) uncertainty

    contingency

    Noun

  • (uncountable) The quality of being contingent, of happening by chance; unpredictability.
  • (countable) A possibility; something which may or may not happen. A chance occurrence, especially in finance, unexpected expenses.
  • (countable) An amount of money which a party to a contract has to pay to the other party (usually the supplier of a major project to the client) if he or she does not fulfill the contract according to the specification.
  • (logic, countable) A statement which is neither a tautology nor a contradiction.
  • Synonyms

    * (quality of happening by chance) possibility * See also

    Antonyms

    * (quality of happening by chance) inevitability, impossibility

    Coordinate terms

    * (statement which is neither a tautology nor a contradiction) contradiction, tautology

    Derived terms

    * contingency plan