certitude
/ˈsəːtɪtjuːd
/noun [mass noun]
1Absolute certainty or conviction that something is the case: the question may never be answered with certitude...
- When one sees the words ‘Government Superannuation Fund’ one has a sense of some certitude, some certainty, but there is none.
- They were given with absolute certitude, a staccato recitation of poll numbers, grand strategy, and historical analogies.
- The stories are awful and fascinating, yet it recreates the utter human chaos with character economy, tact and absolute certitude.
Synonyms
certainty, confidence, sureness, positiveness, conviction, reliability, assuredness, assurance
1.1 [count noun] Something that someone firmly believes is true: the collapse of the old political certitudes in eastern Europe...
- I cherished the symbols of dominion so soon to be objects of ridicule or subjects of parody - the plonk of the cricket ball, the stamp of the sentry's boot, the hymns and the silly rituals that spoke of old certitudes.
- Whether we celebrate or bemoan the loss of the old Catholic certitudes, we need at least to be alert to what values may fill the space left by them.
- The editors explore some of the significant Cold War events and issues that scarred a generation of Australians and degraded the national political culture with simplistic certitudes.
Origin
Late Middle English: from late Latin certitudo, from certus 'certain'.