What does uncertainty mean?
Word: Uncertainty
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Uncertainty means the state of not being sure about something, or something that is not known or settled.
Synonyms: doubt, indecision
Antonyms: confidence
How do you spell uncertainty?
Syllables: un - cer - tain - ty
Tricky part: Students lose the ai of certain (uncertinty) or slip in an extra i (uncertanity). Certain stays whole inside the word.
Watch out for: uncertanity, uncertinty, unsertainty
Memory tip: Certain keeps its tain, the same ending as captain and mountain, and ty is simply added after it.
Uncertainty in a sentence
Example 1: The ferry captain's shrug only added to our uncertainty.
Example 2: The coach's long silence filled the dressing room with uncertainty.
Example 3: Farmers live with the uncertainty of the rains every year.
Fun Fact
In physics, the uncertainty principle, set out by Werner Heisenberg in 1927, says that you cannot know both the exact position and the exact motion of a tiny particle at the same time.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the prefix un. Choose it:
a) patience
b) certainty
c) ability
d) honesty
Show answer
b) certainty. Honesty becomes dishonesty, patience becomes impatience, and ability takes in or dis.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word uncertainty as it is used in the sentence:
There was great uncertainty about the date of the final exam after the floods closed the school.
a) worry
b) suspense
c) assurance
d) confusion
Show answer
c) assurance. Confusion, suspense and worry all come with not knowing; assurance means being sure.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Weeks of ytinctaruen about the new bus route left the parents restless.
a) certainty
b) uncertainty
c) uncertainly
d) unanimity
Show answer
b) uncertainty. Uncertainly ends in ly and unanimity has an m, so neither fits, and certainty is two letters short.
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. oportunity 2. posibility 3. uncertainty 4. curiousity
a) a chance to do something
b) a strong wish to know something
c) a feeling of doubt about what lies ahead
d) something that might happen
Show answer
c) a feeling of doubt about what lies ahead. Curious loses its u in curiosity, while possibility and opportunity need their double letters, ss and pp.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which word shows no uncertainty at all?
a) definitely
b) perhaps
c) maybe
d) possibly
Show answer
a) definitely
2. Which situation is full of uncertainty?
a) walking the same road home
b) reading the next page of a book
c) eating lunch at the usual time
d) waiting to hear if a trip is on
Show answer
d) waiting to hear if a trip is on
