sure

sure

adjective

Definition of SURE

1

having or showing a mind free from doubt <are you absolutely sure that she said she was coming today?>

Synonyms assured, clear, cocksure, confident, doubtless, implicit, positive, sanguine, sure

Related Words self-assured, self-conceited, self-confident; decisive, resolute, unfaltering, unhesitating, unquestioning, unwavering

Near Antonyms hesitant, indecisive, vacillating, wavering; diffident, unassuming

Antonyms doubtful, dubious, uncertain, unsure

2

impossible to avoid or evade <the joke's a sure dud if you don't pause in the right places>

Synonyms certain, ineluctable, ineludible, inescapable, necessary, sure, unavoidable, unescapable

Related Words decided, definite, settled; likely, possible, probable; destined, fated, foreordained, predestined, predetermined, preordained; inexorable, relentless, unremitting, unstoppable

Near Antonyms preventable (also preventible); doubtful, dubious, questionable, shaky, unclear; undecided, unsettled; undependable, unreliable; improbable, unlikely

Antonyms avoidable, evadable, uncertain, unsure

3

not likely to fail <a sure cure for the winter blues—a week in the Bahamas>

Synonyms can't-miss, certain, fail-safe, sure, surefire, unfailing

Related Words dependable, reliable; deadly, unerring

Near Antonyms doubtful, questionable, uncertain

Antonyms fallible

4

worthy of one's trust <a sister is a sure friend for life>

Synonyms calculable, good, reliable, responsible, safe, secure, solid, steady, sure, tried, tried-and-true, true, trustable, trustworthy, trusty

Related Words constant, devoted, faithful, fast, loyal, staunch (also stanch), steadfast, true-blue; honest, sincere, single-minded; infallible, unerring; bedrock, firm, sound, strong; effective, telling; attested, authenticated, confirmed, proven, valid, validated, verified; blameless, faultless, guiltless, impeccable, inerrant, irreproachable, unimpeachable, unquestionable

Near Antonyms disloyal, faithless, false, fickle, inconstant, perfidious, recreant, traitorous, treacherous, unfaithful, untrue; deceitful, dishonest, lying, mendacious, untruthful; debatable, disputable, doubtable, doubtful, dubious, fishy, problematic (also problematical), questionable, shady, shaky, suspect, uncertain, unsound; hazardous, risky; unconfirmed, untried

Antonyms dodgy [chiefly British], uncertain, undependable, unreliable, unsafe, untrustworthy

5

not capable of being challenged or proved wrong <no sure evidence that life exists on other planets>

Synonyms accomplished, certain, inarguable, incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, irrefragable, positive, sure, unanswerable, unarguable, unchallengeable, undeniable, unquestionable

Related Words unambiguous, unequivocal; absolute, clear, conclusive, decisive, definite, hands-down; uncontested, uncontradicted, undisputed, unquestioned

Near Antonyms controversial, debated, disputed; doubtful, dubious, iffy, inconclusive, indecisive, uncertain; ambiguous, equivocal; academic (also academical), hypothetical, speculative, theoretical (also theoretic)

Antonyms answerable, arguable, contradictable, controvertible, debatable, disputable, doubtable, moot, negotiable, problematic (also problematical), questionable, refutable