certainly

adverb

cer·​tain·​ly ˈsər-tᵊn-lē 

1

: in a manner that is certain : with certainty

2

: it is certain that : assuredly

Synonyms

• all right
• alright
• assuredly
• clearly
• definitely
• doubtless
• easily
• forsooth
• hands down
• inarguably
• incontestably
• incontrovertibly
• indeed
• indisputably
• plainly
• really
• so
• sure
• surely
• truly
• unarguably
• undeniably
• undoubtedly
• unquestionably

Examples of certainly in a Sentence

It will certainly rain tomorrow.

This year's festival was certainly much better than last year's.

I'm certainly going to try.

The new version is most certainly easier to use.

The snake that bit her was almost certainly poisonous.

Recent Examples on the Web

Ben-Hur was certainly one of the most extravagant films of the silent era and a testament to the potential of the medium’s ability to capture larger-than-life scenes. —Chris Yogerst, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Apr. 2024

To star Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman, however, his performance through much of April was certainly starting to feel like one. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing certainly

• certainly not

Kids Definition

certainly

adverb

cer·​tain·​ly ˈsərt-ᵊn-lē 

1

: in a manner that is certain : for certain

the earliest voyage of which anything is certainly known

2

: without doubt : surely

certainly you can do better than that