certainly
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
How often you will meet it
Rank 490 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 41,947 times across 139,755 chapters — 0.020% of every word in the library.
It belongs to the first 500 words, the band worth learning before any other.
What it means
adverb
- definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”) also: surely, sure, for sure, for certain, sure enough, sure as shooting the results are surely encouragingshe certainly is a hard worker
certainly in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
-
He certainly did not publish his woes.
Christian's Mistake · Dinah Maria Mulock Craik · Chapter 1
-
No, it was certainly in the house.
Famous Stories Every Child Should Know · Hamilton Wright [Editor] Mabie · Chapter 1
-
She certainly could not be a day less than seventy now.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles · Agatha Christie · Chapter 1
-
She knew as certainly as if the fifteen seniors had told her that Floyd would be "tapped for Bones."
The Courage of the Commonplace · Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews · Chapter 1
-
And in a word, I put my whole stress upon this, "Either that I must meet with some ship or certainly perish."
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures · Daniel Defoe · Chapter 1