Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget

solid, well-founded. unqualified, absolute, positive, determinate, definite, clear, unequivocal, categorical, unmistakable, decisive, decided, ascertained. inevitable, unavoidable, avoidless[obs3]; ineluctable. unerring, infallible; unchangeable &c. 150; to be depended on, trustworthy, reliable, bound. unimpeachable, undeniable, unquestionable; indisputable, incontestable, incontrovertible, indubitable; irrefutable &c. (proven) 478; conclusive, without power of appeal. indubious[obs3]; without doubt, beyond a doubt, without a shade or shadow of doubt, without question, beyond question; past dispute; clear as day; beyond all question, beyond all dispute; undoubted, uncontested, unquestioned, undisputed; questionless[obs3], doubtless. authoritative, authentic, official. sure as fate, sure as death and taxes, sure as a gun. evident, self-evident, axiomatic; clear, clear as day, clear as the sun at noonday. Adv. certainly &c. adj.; for certain, certes[Lat], sure, no doubt, doubtless, and no mistake, flagrante delicto[Lat], sure enough, to be sure, of course, as a matter of course, a coup sur, to a certainty; in truth &c. (truly) 494; at any rate, at all events; without fail; coute que coute[Fr], coute qu'il coute[Fr]; whatever may happen, if the worst come to the worst; come what may, happen what may, come what will; sink or swim; rain or shine. Phr. cela va sans dire[Fr]; there is -no question, - not a shadow of doubt; the die is cast &c. (necessity) 601; "facts are stubborn things" [Smollett]. #475. Uncertainty.—N. uncertainty, incertitude, doubt; doubtfulness &c. adj.; dubiety, dubitation[obs3], dubitancy|, dubitousness[obs3]. hesitation, suspense; perplexity, embarrassment, dilemma, bewilderment; timidity &c. (fear) 860; vacillation &c. 605; diaporesis[obs3], indetermination. vagueness &c. adj.; haze, fog; obscurity &c. (darkness) 421; ambiguity &c. (double meaning) 520; contingency, dependence, dependency, double contingency, possibility upon a possibility; open question &c. (question) 461; onus probandi[Lat]; blind bargain, pig in a poke, leap in the dark, something or other; needle in a haystack, needle in a bottle of hay; roving commission. precariousness &c. adj.; fallibility. V. be uncertain &c. adj.; wonder whether. lose the clue, lose the clew, scent; miss one's way. not know what to make of &c. (unintelligibility) 519, not know which way to turn, not know whether one stands on one's head or one's heels; float in a sea of doubt,hesitate, flounder; lose oneself, lose one's head; muddle one's brains. render uncertain &c. adj.; put out, pose, puzzle, perplex, embarrass; confuse, confound; bewilder, bother, molder, addle the wits, throw off the scent, ambiguas in vulgus spargere voces[Lat]; keep in suspense. doubt &c. (disbelieve) 485; hang in the balance, tremble in the balance; depend. Adj. uncertain; casual; random &c. (aimless) 621; changeable &c. 149. doubtful, dubious; indecisive; unsettled, undecided, undetermined; in suspense, open to discussion; controvertible; in question &c. (inquiry) 461. vague; indeterminate, indefinite; ambiguous, equivocal; undefined, undefinable; confused &c. (indistinct) 447; mystic, oracular; dazed. perplexing &c. v.; enigmatic, paradoxical, apocryphal, problematical, hypothetical; experimental &c. 463. unpredictable, unforeseeable (unknowable) 519. fallible, questionable, precarious, slippery, ticklish, debatable, disputable; unreliable, untrustworthy. contingent, contingent on, dependent on; subject to; dependent on circumstances; occasional; provisional. unauthentic, unauthenticated, unauthoritative; unascertained, unconfirmed; undemonstrated; untold, uncounted. in a state of uncertainty, in a cloud, in a maze; bushed, off the track; ignorant.&c. 491; afraid to say; out of one's reckoning, astray, adrift; at sea, at fault, at a loss, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus; puzzled &c. v.; lost, abroad, dsorient; distracted, distraught. Adv. pendente lite[Lat]; sub spe rati[Lat]. Phr. Heaven knows; who can tell? who shall decide when doctors disagree? ambiguas in vulgum spargere voces[Lat]. SECTION IV. REASONING PROCESSES #476. Reasoning,—N. {ant. 477} reasoning, ratiocination, rationalism; dialectics, induction, generalization. discussion, comment; ventilation; inquiry &c. 461. argumentation, controversy, debate; polemics, wrangling; contention &c. 720 logomachy[obs3]; disputation, disceptation[obs3]; paper war. art of reasoning, logic. process of reasoning, train of reasoning, chain of reasoning; deduction, induction, abduction; synthesis, analysis. argument; case, plaidoyer[obs3], opening; lemma, proposition, terms, premises, postulate, data, starting point, principle; inference &c. (judgment)