Crossword Dictionary
UNCERTAINTY
uncertainty, uncertainness, precariousness - n
being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance; "the uncertainty of the outcome"; "the precariousness of his income"
Synonyms
ambiguity, ambivalence, anxiety, concern, confusion, distrust, mistrust, skepticism, suspicion, trouble, uneasiness, unpredictability, worry, bewilderment, conjecture, contingency, dilemma, disquiet, doubtfulness, dubiety, guesswork, hesitancy, hesitation, incertitude, inconclusiveness, indecision, irresolution, misgiving, mystification, oscillation, perplexity, puzzle, puzzlement, qualm, quandary, query, reserve, scruple, vagueness, wonder
Examples
This is an option Carnival allows passengers to choose if they are flexible about their stateroom and don't mind a bit of uncertainty in their travel plans.
To eliminate this source of uncertainty these metals were employed as compressed powders.
The chief uncertainty is as to whether he knew Justin's Syntagma, and also as to whether he had access to the Philosophumena of Hippolytus in their complete form.
Etymology
late 14c., from uncertain + -ty.
uncertain (adj.)
c. 1300, "of indeterminate time or occurrence," from un- (1) "not" + certain (adj.). Meaning "not fully confident" is recorded from late 14c. (implied in uncertainty). Related: Uncertainly.
-ty (1)
suffix representing "ten" in cardinal numbers that are multiples of 10 (sixty, seventy, etc.), from Old English -tig, from a Germanic root (cognates: Old Saxon, Dutch -tig, Old Frisian -tich, Old Norse -tigr, Old High German -zug, German -zig) that existed as a distinct word in Gothic (tigjus) and Old Norse (tigir) meaning "tens, decades." Compare tithe (n.).