certain

cer|tain¹ W1S1 [ˈsə:tn US ˈsə:r-] adj

[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: Vulgar Latin certanus, from Latin certus 'decided, certain', from cernere 'to sift, decide']

1.) [not before noun]

confident and sure, without any doubts

= ↑sure certain (that)

▪ I'm absolutely certain that I left the keys in the kitchen.

▪ I felt certain that I'd passed the test.

certain who/what/how etc

▪ I'm not certain when it will be ready.

certain about/of

▪ Now, are you certain about that?

▪ They were watching him. He was certain of it.

2.) if something is certain, it will definitely happen or is definitely true

▪ It now seems certain that there will be an election in May.

▪ Many people look certain to lose their jobs.

▪ It is wise to apply early to be certain of obtaining a place.

▪ It's not certain where he lived.

▪ His re-election was considered virtually certain .

▪ It is by no means certain that the deal will be accepted.

▪ If they stayed in the war zone they would face certain death .

3.) make certain

a) to check that something is correct or true

= ↑make sure make certain (that)

▪ We need to make certain that it's going to fit first.

b) to do something in order to be sure that something will happen

= ↑make sure make certain (that)

▪ Secure the edges firmly to make certain that no moisture can get in.

4.) for certain

without doubt

= ↑for sure

know/say (sth) for certain

▪ I know for certain it's in here somewhere.

that's/one thing's for certain

▪ One thing's for certain, he won't be back.

5.) [only before noun]

used to talk about a particular person, thing, group of things etc without naming them or describing them exactly

▪ The library's only open at certain times of day.

▪ I promised to be in a certain place by lunchtime.

▪ There are certain things I just can't discuss with my mother.

certain kind/type/sort

▪ the expectation of a certain kind of behaviour

in certain circumstances/cases etc

▪ Extra funding may be available in certain circumstances.

6.) a certain

a) used to say that an amount is not great

▪ You may need to do a certain amount of work in the evenings.

to a certain extent/degree

(=partly, but not completely)

▪ I do agree with his ideas to a certain extent.

b) enough of a particular quality to be noticed

▪ There's a certain prestige about going to a private school.

c) formal used to talk about someone you do not know but whose name you have been told

▪ a certain Mr Franks

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COLLOCATES for sense 2

it is/seems certain (that)

be/appear/look/seem certain to do something

be certain of (doing) something

it is not certain whether/how etc

almost/virtually/practically certain

fairly certain

by no means certain/far from certain (=not definite)

certain death

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certain ²

certain² pron

certain of sb/sth

formal particular people or things in a group

▪ Certain of the payments were made on Mr Maxwell's authority.