frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

in a coronation. 2 courtly, courteous, polite, civil, correct,
proper, conventional, punctilious, careful: He entered the room
and made a ceremonious bow.
ceremony n. 1 rite, observance, solemnity, service, ceremonial, ritual,
formality, function; obsequies: I had to attend my
grandmother's funeral ceremony and was absent from school. 2
motions, formalities or formality, conventions or convention,
niceties, proprieties, form, protocol; lip-service, appearances,
pro formas, etiquette, decorum: Going through the ceremony is
all they want - they don't care what you believe. Please sign
even if only for ceremony's sake.
certain adj. 1 determined, set, fixed, predetermined, decided, settled,
firm, stable, invariable, established, standard, constant,
unchanging, steady, unfluctuating, non-fluctuating, traditional:
He agreed to pay a certain yearly rent. She met him there every
day at a certain time. 2 sure, unerring, definite, dependable,
trustworthy, unfailing, infallible, reliable, assured,
guaranteed: How do you know that the dividend is certain? 3
sure, inevitable, inescapable, destined, predestined,
ineluctable, inexorable, unavoidable, definite, firm;
unchanging, changeless, infallible, permanent, Colloq on the
cards, a sure thing, US in the cards: It is not always certain
that justice will triumph. Nothing is certain but death and
taxes. 4 indubitable, indisputable, undisputed, undoubted, sure,
doubtless, unequivocal, incontestable, undeniable,
incontrovertible, absolute, irrefutable, unquestionable,
unquestioned, unarguable, valid: It is certain only that we
exist, according to Descartes. 5 confident; assured, sure,
positive, definite: I am certain that she did not steal the
money. 6 specific, particular, definite; unnamed, unspecified,
non-specified, non-specific: He gave us certain information
which we now have reason to doubt.
certainty n. 1 fact, actuality, reality, truth, Colloq sure thing: I
would not advise you to neglect a certainty for something
doubtful. 2 assurance, self-assurance, definiteness,
confidence, conviction, faith, authoritativeness, positiveness,
certitude: The certainty with which he played the card showed
he expected it to be a winner. 3 for a certainty. assuredly,
definitely, certainly, surely, positively; undoubtedly,
indubitably, without (a) doubt, undeniably, unquestionably,