certainty
cer·tain·ty/ˈsɝtn̩ti/noun
certainty is spelled C-E-R-T-A-I-N-T-Y: 9 letters and 3 syllables (cer·tain·ty). It appears 6.6 times per million words in written English, the 9,313th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, certainty means “The state of being certain” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of certainty is certainties.
How many letters and syllables are in certainty?
| Letters | 9: C-E-R-T-A-I-N-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: cer·tain·ty |
| In writing | 6.6 times per million words; the 9,313th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is certainty?
Certainty appears 6.6 times per million words in written English, the 9,313th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce certainty?
- US /ˈsɝtn̩ti/
- UK /ˈsɜːtn̩ti/
Certainty has 3 syllables, split cer·tain·ty in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-certainty.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of certainty
- certainties plural
- certainity
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does certainty mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state of being certain.
with certainty
- 2
An instance of being certain.
- 3
A fact or truth unquestionably established.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate certainty?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of certainty: cert..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Certainty in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense state of being certain:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | certitude |
| German | Gewissheit |
| Portuguese | certeza |
| Spanish | certeza, certitud, certidumbre, certinidad |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does certainty come from?
From Middle English certeynte (“surety”), from Anglo-Norman certeinte, from Old French certeinete, from Vulgar Latin *certānitās, from Latin certus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).