certainly

English

Etymology

certain +‎ -ly

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

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Adverb

certainly (comparative more certainly, superlative most certainly)

1. In a way which is certain; with certainty.
   • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, I.iii.2.2:

     he verily thought he had young live frogs in his belly, qui vivebant ex alimento suo, that lived by his nourishment, and was so certainly persuaded of it, that for many years following he could not be rectified in his conceit.

2. Without doubt, surely; of course.

   The accident was certainly caused by human error.

   That was certainly sweet of him.

   You may certainly join us for dinner.

3. An emphatic affirmative answer.

   Would you like it with ice? Certainly, and with lemon please.

Synonyms

• beyond doubt, indubitably, sure thing, undoubtedly, wis, without a doubt

Coordinate terms

• maybe, possibly, arguably, questionably, probably, perhaps

Derived terms

• most certainly

Translations

without doubt, surely

Arabic: بالتأكيد (ar) (bi-l-ta'kiid), بدون شك (ar) (biduun shakk), بدون نقاش (ar) (biduun niqaash) Egyptian Arabic: أكيد ('akiid) Armenian: անկասկած (hy) (ankaskaç) Bulgarian: безспорно (bg), несъмнено (bg) Catalan: certament (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 當然 (cmn), 当然 (cmn) (dāngrán), 一定 (cmn) (yīdìng) Croatian: zacijelo (hr), sigurno (hr), doista (hr), sigurno (hr) Czech: určitě (cs), nepochybně (cs), jistě (cs) Dutch: beslist, voorzeker, zeker, waarlijk Finnish: todellakin, varmasti, epäilemättä French: certainement (fr), certes (fr), sans nul doute (fr) German: sicherlich (de), zweifellos (de), gewiss (de), freilich (de) Greek: βεβαίως (el) (vevaíos), σίγουρα (el) (sígoura), ασφαλώς (el) (asfalós) Hebrew: בוודאות (he) (bevadaot)

Hindi: अवश्य (hi) (avaśy) Ido: certe (io) Interlingua: certo (ia) Italian: certamente (it) Japanese: 確かに (ja) (たしかに, tashika-ni), 必ず (ja) (かならず, kanarazu), 是非 (ja) (ぜひ, zehi), 確実に (ja) (かくじつに, kakujitsu-ni), もちろん (ja) (mochiron) Kurdish: Sorani: ئه‌کید (ku) (ekíd) Persian: بطور محرز (fa) Portuguese: certamente (pt), sem dúvida (pt) Romanian: bineînțeles (ro), desigur (ro) Russian: конечно (ru) (konéčno) (read: konéšno), несомненно (ru) (nesomnénno), непременно (ru) (nepreménno), безусловно (ru) (bezuslóvno), наверняка (ru) (navernjaká) Spanish: ciertamente (es), sin duda (es) Urdu: اوشیے (ur) (avaśy)

emphatic affirmative answer

Arabic: بالتأكيد (ar) (bi-l-ta'kiid), بدون شك (ar) (biduun shakk), بدون نقاش (ar) (biduun niqaash) Armenian: իհարկե (hy) (iharke), անշուշտ (hy) (anšušt) Bulgarian: разбира се (bg) Chinese: Mandarin: 當然 (cmn), 当然 (cmn) (dāngrán) Croatian: svakako (hr), dakako (hr) Czech: určitě (cs), nepochybně (cs), jistě (cs), zajisté (cs) Dutch: beslist, voorzeker, zeker, en of Finnish: totta kai, ilman muuta, kyllä kiitos French: très certainement (fr), certes (fr), bien sûr (fr), pour sûr (fr), sans aucun doute (fr) German: sicher (de), natürlich (de)

Greek: βεβαίως (el) (vevaíos), ασφαλώς (el) (asfalós) Hebrew: בוודאי (he) (be'vadai) Italian: certamente (it) Japanese: その通り (ja) (そのとおり, sono tōri), 全く (ja) (まったく, mattaku), 必ず (ja) (かならず, kanarazu), 是非 (ja) (ぜひ, zehi) Kurdish: Sorani: ئه‌کید (ku) (ekíd) Polish: na pewno (pl), zdecydowanie (pl) Portuguese: certamente, sem dúvida Russian: конечно (ru) (konéčno) (read: konéšno), несомненно (ru) (nesomnénno), непременно (ru) (nepreménno), безусловно (ru) (bezuslóvno) Serbian: наравно (sr) (naravno), несумњиво (sr) (nesumnjivo) Spanish: por supuesto (es)

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Translations to be checked

Telugu: నిశ్చయంగా (niScayamgaa)

References

• certainly in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• certainly in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: unto · receive · tried · #553: certainly · big · road · husband