1. a. Not determinate or fixed in point of time or occurrence; that may happen earlier or later.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 23733. Es nathing certainur þan dede, Ne vncertainner þan es þe tide.
c. 1340. Hampole, Pr. Consc., 1952. What es mare uncertayn thyng, Þan es þe tyme of the dede commyng.
1388. Wyclif, Wisd. x. 7. Trees hauynge fruytis in vncerteyn tyme.
c. 1480. Henryson, Thre Deid Pollis, 12 (Bann. MS). The hour of deth and place Is vncertane.
1526. Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 240. Vncertayne is thy deth, remember thyne ende.
1549. Compl. Scot., 36. The terme of cristis cumming is schort, ande the day oncertane.
1560. Daus, trans. Sleidane’s Comm., 462 b. To be differred to a tyme uncerten.
a. 1627. Sir J. Beaumont, Miserable St. Man, 39. Which fixe our minds on that vncertaine day when these shall faile, most certaine to decay.
1811. Regul. & Ord. Army, 135. The Captain and Subaltern of the Day of each Regiment are to visit the Hospital at different and uncertain Hours.
b. Not determinate or fixed in amount, number, or extent.
1303. R. Brunne, Handl. Synne, 6688. Betwyxe oure ioye, and ȝoure peyne, ys endles tyme, and vncerteyne.
1382. Wyclif, Job xv. 20. The noumbre of ȝeris of his tiraundise is vncertein.
c. 1460. Fortescue, Abs. & Lim. Mon., ix. (1885), 127. Sithyn the said extraordinarie charges bith so vncertayne þat thai be not estymable.
1725. Fam. Dict., s.v. Yard-land, This uncertain quantity in 28 of Edward IV. is call’d a Verge of Land.
1774. Goldsm., Nat. Hist., I. 339. The activity of the winds, their continual change, and uncertain duration.
1775. Johnson, Tax. no Tyr., 14. A duty of very uncertain extent.
1816. Shelley, Hymn Intell. Beauty, IV. 2. Love, Hope, and Self-esteem, like clouds depart And come, for some uncertain moments lent.
1839. Stonehouse, Axholme, 25. The warp along the shores of the Trent forms a bed of uncertain thickness.
c. Having no regular shape. rare–1.
1742. Leoni, Palladio’s Archit., I. 81. It was pav’d with uncertain Stones, that is, such as had unequal sides and angles.
2. Not certain or determined in respect of occurrence; dependent on chance or accident.
1303. R. Brunne, Handl. Synne, 5995. Here mercy ys ful on-certeyn But þey ȝelde hem here gode aȝeyn.
1484. Coventry Leet Bk., 518. Because they shuld not come in þe market … Howe-so-euer þe price of whete went higher or lower, which was thought vncerteyn.
1589. Puttenham, Eng. Poesie, I. xix. 32. The things future, being also euents very vncertaine, and such as can not possibly be knowne because they be not yet.
1634. Milton, Comus, 360. Peace brother, be not over-exquisite To cast the fashion of uncertain evils.
1818. Cruise, Digest (ed. 2), II. 269. Such remainder is contingent, because it is uncertain which of them will survive.
1853. Abp. Thomson, Laws Th. (ed. 3), § 124. 332. Uncertain events are those wherein no cause or law appears, to determine the occurrence of one rather than of another.
1880. Science-Gossip, XXV. 116/1. There are small ledges here and there formed … by the uncertain deposit of material, or by the uncertain slip of shingle.
b. Devoid of, lacking in, certainty or settled character; liable to change or accident.
1477. Rolls of Parlt., VI. 1687. The lyf of every creature is uncertayn.
1503–4. Act 19 Hen. VII., c. 25. Preamble. Lyfe [is] as uncertayne to suche as survyve as was to them now departed.
1526. Tindale, 1 Tim. vi. 17. Charge them … that they be not excedynge wyse, and that they trust not in the vncertayne riches, but in the livynge god.
1607. Shaks., Timon, V. i. 205. Their Aches, losses, Their pangs of Loue, with other incident throwes That Natures fragile Vessell doth sustaine In lifes vncertaine voyage.
1655. Stanley, Hist. Philos., III. (1687), 86/2. He ought not voluntarily to thrust himself into destruction…; that he should leave his Children in an uncertain mean estate.
1690. Locke, Hum. Und., I. iii. § 13. Truth and Certainty … are not at all secured by them: But Men are in the same uncertain, floating estate with, as without them.
1743. Francis, trans. Hor., Odes, III. xxix. 39. For the World’s uncertain Fate Alarm’d.
1828. Lytton, Pelham, III. x. My mother was much better, but still in a very uncertain and dangerous state of health.
1850. McCosh, Div. Govt., II. ii. (1874), 163. There is nothing so uncertain as bodily health and human destiny.
1891. Farrar, Darkn. & Dawn, xlv. His philosophic teacher … persuaded him that a firm death was preferable to troubled and uncertain life.
3. About which one cannot be certain or assured; subject to doubt.
1338. R. Brunne, Chron. (1810), 324. Who may now in Rome haf any sikernesse, Þat þer is hiest dome, & ȝit vncerteyn es?
c. 1374. Chaucer, Boeth., V. pr. iii. (1868), 154. Þan ne sholde þer ben no stedfast prescience of þinge to comen but raþer an vncerteyn oppinioun.
1382. Wyclif, 1 Cor. ix. 26. Therfore I renne so, not as into an uncerteyn thing; thus I fiȝte, not as betynge the eyr.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 9206. Hit semith me vsertain, all serchyng of wayes.
1484. Caxton, Fables of Auian, xvi. Men ought not to lete goo … what they be sure of, hopynge to haue afterwards that … which is vncertayne.
1555. Eden, Decades (Arb.), 126. Petrus Arias … hath offered hym selfe to aduenture his lyfe … vnder vncerteyne hope of gayne.
1596. Shaks., 1 Hen. IV., II. iii. 12. The purpose you vndertake is dangerous, the Friends you haue named vncertaine.
1634. Sir T. Herbert, Trav., 2. Vncertaine stories, which not only perplexe the hearers, but beget incredulitie, oftentimes amongst the credulous.
1669. Sturmy, Mariner’s Mag., V. xii. 70. It is very difficult, and a thing uncertain also to arrive herein unto Exactness.
1718. Prior, Solomon, I. 740. Forc’d by reflective Reason I confess, That human Science is uncertain Guess.
1794. S. Williams, Vermont (1809), I. vii. 221. If the facts had been true, the conclusions which have been drawn from them would have been wholly uncertain.
1798. Wordsw., Tintern Abbey, 19. With some uncertain notice, as might seem Of vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods.
1827. Faraday, Chem. Manip., xxi. 548. New, important, and uncertain or unexpected results, are to be repeated once or twice.
absol. 1484. Caxton, Fables of Auian, xvi. Men ought not to leue that thynge whiche is sure & certayne, for hope to haue the vncertayn.
1548. Hall, Chron. Hen. VI., 129. It was not the poynt of a wiseman, to leave and let passe, the certain for the uncertain.
b. Of ways, etc.: Not clearly leading to a certain goal or destination.
c. 1380. Wyclif, Sel. Wks., III. 363. Certis þat man were a fool þat wolde take þis uncerteine weie, and leeve þe certeyn witt and feyþ.
1565. Cooper, Thesaurus, Iter ambiguum, vncertayne way.
1594. Shaks., Rich. III., IV. ii. 64. Murther her Brothers, and then marry her, Vncertaine way of gaine.
1640. Denham, Cooper’s H. (1655), 295. He … more Repents his courage, then his feare before; Finds that uncertaine waies unsafest are.
1653. J. Taylor (Water P.) (title), The certain Travailes of an uncertain Journey.
1784. Cowper, Task, III. 3. One who, long in thickets and in brakes Entangled, winds now this way and now that His devious course uncertain, seeking home.
1805. Wordsw., Prelude, VI. 696. Doubting not that … by no uncertain path … Led, as before, we should behold the scene.
1818. Keats, Endym., II. 48. For many days, Has he been wandering in uncertain ways: Through wilderness.
c. That cannot be relied on to produce a particular result.
1382. Wyclif, Wisd. ix. 14. The thoȝtis forsothe of deadli men [ben] dredful, and vncerteyn oure purueauncis.
1596. Spenser, F. Q., VI. iv. 25. So vp and downe he wandred many a mile, With wearie trauell and vncertaine toile.
1759. R. Brown, Compl. Farmer, II. 119. Hops are a very uncertain crop.
1765. Museum Rust., IV. 314. He admits the spring-sowing to be uncertain.
1781. Gibbon, Decl. & F., xxx. III. 175. These expensive and uncertain treaties.
1833. Penny Cycl., I. 186. In this arid region … maize, barley, and caffre corn, afford the husbandman a miserable and uncertain crop.
4. Not known with certainty; not established or proved beyond doubt; doubtful, dubious.
a. 1325. Prose Psalter, l. 7. Þe vncerteyn þynges and pryue of þy wisdom þou made to me apert.
1338. R. Brunne, Chron. (1810), 334. Roberte’s men þei slowe, þe numbre vncerteyn.
1387. Trevisa, Higden (Rolls), II. 63. Hit is vncerteyn who bulde first þis citee.
1538. Starkey, England (1878), 61. Fortune, or els what other name soeuer you wyl gyue to the blynd and vncertayne causys wych be not in mannys powar.
1561. T. Norton, Calvin’s Inst., 22. Euen the wisest of them … in theyr prayers do cal vpon vncertayne gods.
a. 1578. Lindesay (Pitscottie), Chron. Scot. (S. T. S.), I. 68. The Earle of Saillisberrie quho was slaine be the schot of ane goun, wncertane hou or be quhat way.
1610. Holland, Camden’s Brit. (1637), 288. Uncertaine it is, whether he made these buildings, or the buildings made him.
1639. Ld. Balmerino, in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm., App. I. 48. Occurrents heere are vncertain.
1732. Berkeley, Alciphr., VI. § 5. What was uncertain in the primitive times cannot be undoubted in the subsequent.
1807. Robinson, Archæol. Græca, III. xiv. 260. It is uncertain who was the inventor of divination by sacrifices…. By some it is ascribed to the Hetrurians.
1875. Jowett, Plato (ed. 2), IV. 121. The relation [of the Parmenides] to the other writings of Plato is … uncertain.
b. Without clear signification; ambiguous.
1382. Wyclif, 1 Cor. xiv. 8. If the trumpe ȝyue vncerteyn vois [1388 soune], who schal make him silf redy to bateil?
1611. Bible, 1 Cor. xiv. 8. If the trumpet giue an vncertaine sound.
1663. Bp. Patrick, Parab. Pilgr., xvi. Metaphorical or borrowed words, which … make an uncertain sound, and leave the mind in confusion.
1818. Cruise, Digest (ed. 2), IV. 298, marg. Where a Deed is uncertain, it is void.
1905. G. Thorne, Lost Cause, x. When the most influential part of the Press began to speak with no uncertain voice.
c. Not clearly identified, located, or determined.
1617. Moryson, Itin., I. 192. Which King Phillip Augustus began to build in … 1257, the foundations being before laid by an uncertaine founder.
1631. Weever, Anc. Funeral Mon., 518. The vncertaine buriall of Vortimer … was in some part of this Citie.
1638. Guillim’s Heraldry (ed. 3), I. vi. 41. According to that saying of an uncertaine Author.
1817. Byron, Beppo, xxii. The years Which certain people call a ‘certain age,’ Which yet the most uncertain age appears.
1821. Scott, Kenilw., xxv. A large and massive Keep, which formed the citadel of the Castle, was of uncertain though great antiquity.
1900. A. S. Murray, Catal. Sculpt. Parthen. in Brit. Mus., 77. No. 30 is a maiden holding an uncertain object, perhaps a footstool, on her left arm.
d. Not clearly defined or outlined.
1638. Junius, Paint. Ancients, 89. The uncertaine shapes of clouds most commonly are likened unto anything our wandering minde conceiveth.
1833. Tennyson, Palace of Art, 238. But in dark corners of her palace stood Uncertain shapes.
1853. Kane, Grinnell Exp., xlvii. (1856), 444. Every thing, in short, grew blurred and uncertain.
5. Not certain to remain in one state or condition; unsteady, variable, fitful.
1591. Shaks., Two Gent., I. iii. 85. How this spring of love resembleth The vncertaine glory of an Aprill day. Ibid. (c. 1600), Sonn., cxlvii. My loue is as a feauer,… Feeding on that which doth preserue the ill, Th’ vncertaine sicklie appetite to please.
1694. J. Smith, Horolog. Disquisit., 87. To make the more certain Guess at what Weather will after ensue, especially if the Glass be at Changeable and Uncertain.
1738. Gray, Tasso, 48. As when athwart the dusky woods by night The uncertain crescent gleams a sickly light.
1743. Francis, trans. Hor., Odes, I. xiii. 6. On my cheek th’ uncertain color dies.
1753. Miss Collier, Art Torment., I. i. When the weather is quite uncertain.
1794. Mrs. Radcliffe, Myst. Udolpho, xxix. The moon gave a faint and uncertain light, for heavy vapours surrounded it.
1805. Scott, Last Minstrel, Introd. 85. Amid the strings his fingers stray’d, And an uncertain warbling made.
1828. Sir J. E. Smith, Eng. Flora, II. 109. It may be observed that our uncertain summer is established by the time the Elder is in full flower.
1866. Howells, Venetian Life, ii. I could see by that uncertain glimmer how fair was all, but not how sad and old.
b. of persons: Variable, fickle, changeable, capricious.
a. 1611[?]. Beaum. & Fl., Four Plays, Tri. Death, ii. Uncertain as the Sea, Sir, Proud and deceitful as his sins Great Master.
a. 1625. Fletcher, Double Marr., I. i. Thou art constant; I an uncertain fool, a most blind fool.
1664. J. Wilson, A. Commenius, V. viii. The uncertain people, Constant to nothing but inconstancy.
a. 1721. Prior, Ess. Opinion, ¶ 13. If You trace this Man thro life … You will find him always uncertain.
1808. Scott, Marm., VI. xxx. O, Woman! in our hours of ease, Uncertain, coy, and hard to please.
6. Of persons: Not fully confident or assured of something.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 2050. Now Priam … [was] Uncertain of his Sister for seyng hir euer.
1548. Udall, etc., Erasm. Par. Mark xiii. 83 b. These seruauntes, because they be vncertayne of theyr Lordes returnyng home, do styl endeuoyre them selues to do theyr office & duety.
1596. Shaks., 1 Hen. IV., I. i. 61. He … in the very heate And pride of their contention, did take horse, Vncertaine of the issue any way.
1631. Weever, Anc. Funeral Mon., 579. He … being infected with the plague,… was landed about Portsmouth, and being vncertaine of any house, died vnder a hedge.
1670. Milton, Hist. Eng., II. 110. Thir [sc. the Saxons’] multitude wander’d yet uncertain of habitation.
1718. Prior, Solomon, III. 290. What is a King?… To blind Events, and fickle Chance a Slave: Seeking to settle what for ever flies; Sure of the Toil, uncertain of the Prize.
b. Const. how, what, whether, etc.: Having no clear knowledge; in a state of doubt.
1526. Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 7. Whan he is vncerteyn whether he shall be iudged for euermore to ioye or to payne.
1560. Daus, trans. Sleidane’s Comm., 444 b. And the people be lefte in this doutfull state of thinges, to be uncertaine howe pacientlye all menne woulde take it.
1597. Hooker, Eccl. Pol., V. lxii. § 18. St. Augustine was not himselfe vncertaine what to thinke.
1697. Dryden, Æneis, III. 9. Uncertain yet to find What place the gods for our repose assigned.
1794. Mrs. Radcliffe, Myst. Udolpho, xxxiv. As she advanced, terrified and uncertain what to do.
1796. Mme. D’Arblay, Camilla, VI. xiii. Camilla was still more agitated; for though uncertain if she were right or wrong in the appeal she meant to make [etc.].
1851. Thackeray, Eng. Hum., vi. 302. He is always looking in my face, watching his effect, uncertain whether I think him an impostor or not.
1865. Mrs. Carlyle, Lett. (1883), III. 253. I am uncertain how long he will be away.
c. Undecided; not directed to a definite end.
1382. Wyclif, 1 Sam. xxiii. 13. Dauid … and his men … hidir and thider weren vagaunt vncerteyn [L. incerti].
1607. Shaks., Cor., V. vi. 17. The People will remaine vncertaine, whil’st ’Twixt you there’s difference.
1697. Dryden, Æneis, VII. 692. Ascanius young, and eager of his Game, Soon bent his Bow, uncertain in his Aim.
1808. Scott, Marm., III. xx. The King Lord Gifford’s castle sought, Deep labouring with uncertain thought. Ibid. (1821), Kenilw., xxv. That anxious and uncertain gaze, which indicated a doubt whether her brain was settled.
1855. Poultry Chron., III. 428/1. In their droning flight they move very irregularly, darting hither and thither, with an uncertain aim.
† 7. Into uncertain, at random. Obs.
1382. Wyclif, 1 Kings xxii. 34. A maner man bente a boowe, into vncerteyn [L. in incertum]. Ibid., 2 Chron. xviii. 33. Oon of the puple in to vncerteyn kast an arowe.
8. Quasi-adv. In an uncertain manner.
a. 1718. Prior, Cloe Hunting, 4. She lost her Way, And thro’ the Woods uncertain chanc’d to stray.
1784. Cowper, Task, I. 358. The constant flail, That seems to swing uncertain, and yet falls Full on the destin’d ear.
