Unsureness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The condition of lacking confidence or certainty about something, so that one cannot decide what to believe or do
2. A feeling of doubt or hesitation when one is not clear about facts, choices, or outcomes
3. Being uncertain or undecided in mind, without firm conviction about what is true or what should happen

Etymology: "Unsureness" is a plain formation: the adjective "unsure" with the suffix "-ness" attached. "Unsure" itself is built from the prefix "un-", meaning "not", added to "sure," which came into English from Old French "seür," ultimately from Latin "securus," meaning "free from care." That Latin root is also behind "secure," so the word for being uncertain is, at its core, a negated version of the idea of being free from worry. The suffix "-ness" is an old English one, used to turn adjectives into nouns of state or quality, so "unsureness" simply names the condition of being unsure. Its form is a regular English coinage rather than a borrowing, and the word is a natural product of the same pattern that produces "happiness" or "darkness" from their adjectives.

Synonyms: uncertainty, doubt, insecurity, hesitancy, indecision

Antonyms: certainty, sureness, confidence