Onzekere

Onzekere is a Dutch adjective meaning uncertain or doubtful. It is the inflected attributive form of the base adjective onzeker and is typically used before a noun to describe something lacking certainty or confidence. For example, een onzekere toekomst (an uncertain future) or onzekere tijden (uncertain times). In predicative use after a linking verb, the form is usually onzeker, as in De uitkomst is onzeker (The outcome is uncertain).

Etymology and meaning: Onzekere derives from onzeker, formed with the negating prefix on- and the adjective zeker (certain). The prefix negates the sense of certainty, signaling doubt, risk, or ambiguity. The word is common in everyday language as well as in formal contexts.

Usage and nuance: Onzekere is used to convey subjective assessment or objective doubt about events, probabilities, or information. It appears frequently in journalism, politics, risk analysis, and social commentary. The term can describe situations, predictions, decisions, or measurements where precise knowledge is lacking or outcomes are uncertain. Its nuance is closer to “uncertain” or “doubtful” rather than “unsafe.”

Related terms:zeker (certain), onzekerheid (uncertainty), twijfel (doubt). The noun onzekerheid is used to discuss uncertainty as a concept, while onzeker and onzekere express the adjectival judgment about a specific entity or situation.

In summary, onzekere is the common attributive form to describe nouns as not definite or not reliably known, with predicative usage typically realized as onzeker.