different between certain vs significant
certain
English
Alternative forms
- certaine (obsolete)
- certeine (archaic)
Etymology
From Middle English certeyn, certein, certain, borrowed from Old French certain, from a Vulgar Latin unattested form *cert?nus, extended form of Latin certus (“fixed, resolved, certain”), of the same origin as cretus, past participle of cernere (“to separate, perceive, decide”). Displaced native Middle English wis, iwis (“certain, sure”) (from Old English ?ewiss (“certain, sure”)) and alternative Middle English spelling sertane (“some, certain”)
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /?s??tn?/
- (General American) IPA(key): /?s?tn?/
- (Canada) IPA(key): /?s?t?n/, /?s?tn?/
- Rhymes: -??(?)t?n
- Hyphenation: cer?tain
Adjective
certain (comparative more certain, superlative most certain)
- Sure, positive, not doubting.
- I was certain of my decision.
- Spain is now certain of a place in the finals.
- (obsolete) Determined; resolved.
- Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.
- Actually existing; sure to happen; inevitable.
- Bankruptcy is the certain outcome of your constant gambling and lending.
- Unfailing; infallible.
- 1702, Richard Mead, Mechanical Account of Poisons
- I have often wished , that I knew so certain a remedy in any other disease
- Fixed or stated; regular; determinate.
- The people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day.
- Known but not specifically named; indeterminate; indefinite; one or some; sometimes used independently as a noun, and meaning certain persons; see also "one".
- It came to pass when he was in a certain city.
Synonyms
- (not doubting): See also Thesaurus:certain
- (sure to happen): unavoidable; See also Thesaurus:inevitable
Antonyms
- (not doubting): uncertain
- (sure to happen): impossible, incidental
- (known but not named): particular specific
Derived terms
- certainly (adv)
Related terms
- certainty (n)
Translations
Determiner
certain
- Having been determined but not specified. The quality of some particular subject or object which is known by the speaker to have been specifically singled out among similar entities of its class.
Translations
Pronoun
certain
- (with of) Unnamed or undescribed members (of).
- She mentioned a series of contracts, of which certain are not cited
- 1611, Bible (King James Version), Acts xxiii. 12
- Certain of the Jews banded together.
Synonyms
- (unnamed or undescribed members (of)): some
Noun
certain pl (plural only)
- (with "the") Something certain.
Further reading
- certain at OneLook Dictionary Search
- certain in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- certain in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams
- Cretian, ant rice, anticer, cantier, ceratin, citrean, creatin, crinate, nacrite, tacrine, tercian
French
Etymology
From Old French certain, from Vulgar Latin unattested form *cert?nus, extended form of Latin certus (“fixed, resolved, certain”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /s??.t??/
Adjective
certain (feminine singular certaine, masculine plural certains, feminine plural certaines)
- certain (sure, positive)
- Il est certain qu'il viendra.
- It is certain that he will arrive.
- Il est certain qu'il viendra.
- certain (fixed, determined)
- certain (specified, particular)
Derived terms
Noun
certain m (plural certains)
- certain; certainty
Determiner
certain
- certain: a determined but unspecified amount of ; some
- Certaines personnes vont aller.
- Some people are going.
- Certaines personnes vont aller.
Related terms
- certainement
- certitude
- incertain
Further reading
- “certain” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Anagrams
- carient, centrai, cernait, crainte, criante, écriant, encirât, encrait
Old French
Alternative forms
- (Picard dialect) chertain
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin *cert?nus, from Latin certus. Compare Old Italian and Old Spanish certano.
Adjective
certain m (oblique and nominative feminine singular certaine)
- certain; sure
Declension
Synonyms
- seur
Related terms
- cert
Descendants
- ? Middle English: certeyn
- English: certain
- French: certain
certain From the web:
- what certain dreams mean
- what certain emojis mean
- what certain headaches mean
- what certain mean
- what certain crystals mean
- what certain colors mean
- what certain acne means
- what certain flowers mean
significant
English
Etymology
From Latin significans, present participle of significare, from signum (“sign”) + ficare (“do, make”), variant of facere.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /s???n?.f?.k?nt/
- (US, also) IPA(key): /s???n?.f?.??nt/
Adjective
significant (comparative more significant, superlative most significant)
- Signifying something; carrying meaning.
- Synonym: meaningful
- It was well said of Plotinus, that the stars were significant, but not efficient.
- Having a covert or hidden meaning.
- Having a noticeable or major effect.
- Synonym: notable
- Reasonably large in number or amount.
- (statistics) Having a low probability of occurring by chance (for example, having high correlation and thus likely to be related).
Usage notes
- This word may be ambiguous in some situations. In formal writing, care should be taken with comments such as "the difference is significant," because it is not clear without contextual clues whether significant modifies the fact that there is a difference ("notable"), or the difference itself ("large in number or amount"). In some such situations, large and other synonyms may be used in its place.
Synonyms
- important
Antonyms
- insignificant
- ignorable
- negligible
- slight
Related terms
- significance
- significand
- significant other
- signify
Translations
Noun
significant (plural significants)
- That which has significance; a sign; a token; a symbol.
- a. 1850, William Wordsworth, The Egyptian Maid
- And in my glass significants there are
- a. 1850, William Wordsworth, The Egyptian Maid
References
significant in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
Catalan
Verb
significant
- present participle of significar
Latin
Verb
significant
- third-person plural present active indicative of signific?
significant From the web:
- what significant mean
- what significant event happened in 1966
- what significant event happened at the battles of lexington and concord
- what significant event happened in 1848
- what significant changes happened in 1942
- what significant economic challenge did
- what does significant mean
- what does significantly significant mean
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