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uncertainty Definition

un·cer·tainty (-tē)

noun

  1. lack of certainty; doubt
  2. pl. -·ties something uncertain

Etymology: ME uncerteynte

  • uncertified
uncertainty Synonyms

uncertainty

n.

  1. The mental state of being uncertain

    perplexity, doubt, dubiety, dubiosity, skepticism, puzzlement, quandary, mystification, guesswork, conjecture, indecision, ambivalence, dilemma.

    Antonyms opinion*, belief*, decision.

  2. The state of being undetermined or unknown

    incertitude, questionableness, contingency, obscurity, vagueness, ambiguity, equivocalness, doubt, difficulty, incoherence, intricacy, darkness, inconclusiveness, indeterminateness, improbability, unlikelihood, low probability, conjecturability; see also doubt 2.

    Antonyms determination*, sureness, necessity.

  3. That which is not determined or not known

    chance, mutability, change, unpredictability, possibility, emergence, contingency, blind spot, puzzle, enigma, question, blank, vacancy, maze, theory, risk, blind bargain, leap in the dark*.

    Antonyms fact*, truth*, matter of record.

uncertainty ranges in implication from a mere lack of absolute sureness uncertainty about a date of birth to such vagueness as to preclude anything more than guesswork the uncertainty of the future; doubt implies such a lack of conviction, as through absence of sufficient evidence, that there can be no certain opinion or decision there is doubt about his guilt; dubiety suggests uncertainty characterized by wavering between conclusions; dubiosity connotes uncertainty characterized by vagueness or confusion; skepticism implies an unwillingness to believe, often a habitual disposition to doubt, in the absence of absolute certainty or proof

uncertainty Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • quantify: Our aim is to quantify uncertainty in flow performance prediction due to uncertainty in a reservoir description.
  • associate: The uncertainty associated with the weights must be less than the resolution of the machine.
  • resolve: The selection stage should give the user as much help as possible in resolving this uncertainty.
  • prolong: The setting up of further investigation is likely to prolong the uncertainty surrounding Equitable.
  • reduce: Minimizing the delay will reduce further uncertainty about the industry created by the Equitable Life affair.
  • tolerate: Earlier in the Depression Learning Path, we talked about the importance of tolerating uncertainty when looking to overcome depression.

Converse of subject

  • characterize: Finally, innovation processes tend to be characterized by uncertainty rather than quantifiable risk.

Adjective modifier

  • positional: A positional uncertainty of 4 " indicates sources detected also by the HRI.
  • inherent: The innovator is an active information seeker, who can cope with the inherent uncertainty involved with innovation.
  • considerable: There was, again, considerable uncertainty in these results.
  • geopolitical: The post-Cold War era is characterized by a diffusion of power, geopolitical uncertainties, and technology-driven change.
  • scientific: Government policy did not take into account the scientific uncertainty about the effects of the chemicals.
  • pervasive: A key challenge is how to manage this pervasive uncertainty in a principled fashion and, most importantly, in real-time.

Modifies a noun

  • principle: The electrons have an orbit of minimum energy from which they cannot fall into the nucleus without violating the uncertainty principle.

Noun used with modifier

  • measurement: The measurement uncertainty samples were analyzed in eight separate batches over a period of three weeks.
  • quantum: The second line we can draw derives from quantum uncertainty.

Preposition: in

  • prediction: Uncertainty in Predictions of the Climate Response to Rising Levels of Greenhouse Gases " .
  • estimation: Uncertainty in the estimation of critical loads: a practical methodology.
  • estimate: Another source of uncertainty in this estimate lies in our ignorance of some of the finer details of stellar evolution.

Preposition: of

  • extremist: N = 100, uncertainty of extremists: u e = 0.01, p e = 0.15, U = 1.2.
uncertainty Quotes

Whatever may be the distribution of uncertainty among economists, the public only gets to hear from those who have certain opinions.

—Stein, Herbert

Any performance is discussable from the standpoint of what it attains or what it misses.Comprehensiveness can be discussed as superficiality, intensiveness as stricture, tolerance as uncertaintyöand the poor pedestrian abilities of a fish are clearly explainable in terms of his excellence as a swimmer. A way of seeing is also a way of not seeing.

—Burke, Kenneth

Gesetzt, wir wollenWahrheit: warum nicht lieber Unwahrheit? Und Ungewissheit? Selbst Unwissenheit? Granted we want truth: why not rather untruth? And uncertainty? Even ignorance?

—Nietzsche, FriedrichWilhelm