Uncertainties

How to spell uncertainties

13 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce uncertainties

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does uncertainties mean?

1. nounSituations, factors, or doubts whose outcome or value cannot be known or predicted with confidence.

Uncertainties in a sentence

• The budget forecast lists several economic uncertainties that could affect next year.

• Investors hate the uncertainties created by sudden changes in interest rates.

Where does uncertainties come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin certus, meaning 'sure, fixed, or settled', which itself grew from the verb cernere, 'to sift, separate, or decide'. The idea was that something certain had been sorted out and made definite. From certus came Old French certain, which English adopted in the 1300s, and from there speakers built the noun 'certainty' for the state of being sure. Adding the negative prefix un- produced 'uncertainty', the lack of sureness or definiteness, and the plural 'uncertainties' names the individual doubts, risks, or unknown factors in a situation. The tricky spelling sits in the middle: the 'ai' in certain is unstressed and easy to scramble, and the ending shifts from -ty to -ties once the word is made plural.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• certain (from Latin certus: sure, fixed)
• -ty (noun-forming suffix)
• -es (plural)