# uncertainty

Pronunciation: say "un-SUR-tuhn-tee" US /ʌnˈsɝtənti/, UK /ʌnˈsɜːtənti/

## Noun

1. A state of doubt; the condition of not being sure or lacking conviction.
   - Simple: The feeling of not being sure about something.
   - _The economic uncertainty led many families to delay big purchases._
   - _He spoke with such uncertainty that no one trusted his plan._
2. A matter or detail that remains unsettled or open to question.
   - Simple: A thing that you cannot be sure about.
   - _Every business faces an uncertainty it cannot fully predict._
   - _The report listed the main uncertainties surrounding the merger._
3. A parameter that measures how much a set of measured values is spread out.
   - Simple: A number that shows how spread out a set of measurements is.
   - _Each instrument adds some uncertainty to the final reading._
   - _The lab reduced the uncertainty by repeating every measurement ten times._

## Origin

From Middle English uncerteynte, formed from the prefix "un-" plus "certainty" (or equivalently from "uncertain" plus the suffix "-ty").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/uncertainty (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).