Unsure
adjectiveNot certain or confident about something.
How to spell unsure
6 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce unsure
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does unsure mean?
- adjectiveNot certain or confident about something.
Unsure in a sentence
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She was unsure whether the meeting had been moved to Friday.
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If you are unsure about the dosage, ask the pharmacist.
Where does unsure come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
This word joins the native English prefix un-, meaning 'not', to the adjective 'sure'. The base 'sure' came into English in the 1300s from the Old French 'sur' or 'seur', meaning 'safe' or 'certain', which itself traced back to the Latin 'securus', literally 'free from care', built from 'se-' (without) and 'cura' (care or worry). The same Latin 'securus' also gives us 'secure', and you can still see the family resemblance in spelling and sense. The un- prefix is one of English's most productive negators, attaching freely to adjectives, so 'unsure' simply means 'not certain'. The slightly tricky part for spellers is that the 'sure' element keeps its silent, soft pronunciation even though it begins with a plain s and ends in a silent e.
How the word is built
- un- (not)
- sure (certain, confident)
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