be determined with certainty

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "be determined with certainty" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing the need for a conclusion or decision to be made with confidence and assurance. Example: "The results of the experiment must be analyzed thoroughly to ensure that the outcomes can be determined with certainty."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Academia

Encyclopedias

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

The object "cannot be determined with certainty," the Israeli military said in a statement.

The New York Times

The commission said in its annual report published on Tuesday that the reasons for the increase cannot be determined with certainty.

The Guardian

Further, the ages of the detainees brought to Guantánamo as enemy combatants cannot be determined with certainty, leaving officials to make estimates.

The New York Times

By the time they appear in the fossil record, the Columbiformes are already so well differentiated that their phylogenetic relations cannot be determined with certainty.

Britannica

Whether they represent mucinous cystadenocarcinomas or mucinous carcinomas that arose from the flat variant of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms could not be determined with certainty.

Annals of Diagnostic Pathology

Until a business adventure has been completely liquidated, it can never be determined with certainty whether there have been profits unless the returns at least exceeded the capital originally invested.

Cornell University

These are the "wicked problems" — questions in which success cannot be determined with certainty or where multiple, mutually exclusive goals must be delicately balanced to create an optimal outcome.

Stanford University

But Loretta Pickus, the former general counsel at the casino, told me that it could not be determined with certainty which employee had recorded the footage with a phone.

The New Yorker

The purported LTR experiments were difficult to verify because surface temperature profiles were generally non-linear and the Biot numbers for the system under study could not be determined with certainty.

Chemical Engineering Science

Though the exact location of Gethsemane cannot be determined with certainty, Armenian, Greek, Latin, and Russian churches have accepted an olive grove on the western slope of the Mount of Olives as the authentic site, which was so regarded by the empress Helena, mother of Constantine (the first Christian emperor, early 4th century ad).

Encyclopedia Britannica

It is highly desirable to avoid this overlap computation, especially if it can be determined with certainty that a conformer pair cannot meet the criteria to be a 3-D neighbor.

Journal of Cheminformatics

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "be determined with certainty" when you want to emphasize that a conclusion is reached with a high degree of confidence and assurance, typically after a thorough investigation or analysis.

Common error

Avoid overuse of the passive construction. While "be determined with certainty" is grammatically correct, actively stating who is doing the determining can make your writing more direct and engaging. For example, instead of "It cannot be determined with certainty", try "Researchers cannot determine with certainty".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "be determined with certainty" typically functions as part of a predicate in a sentence, indicating that something is able to be established or concluded without doubt. As Ludwig AI explains, it reflects a state of conclusiveness. Ludwig provides many examples showing its use across a range of contexts.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

Science

57%

News & Media

23%

Academia

7%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

3%

Wiki

3%

Formal & Business

3%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "be determined with certainty" is grammatically correct and widely used to express that something can be established or concluded without doubt. Ludwig AI confirms its validity and frequent usage across various domains. Predominantly found in scientific, academic, and news contexts, this phrase conveys a high degree of confidence in a finding or conclusion. While generally formal, it's important to use the active voice where appropriate to avoid overuse of passive constructions. Alternatives such as "be established conclusively" or "be proven beyond doubt" can offer subtle shifts in meaning depending on the intended nuance. Ultimately, the selection of the perfect phrasing is essential to maintain precision, clarity, and formality in communication.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

be established conclusively

Focuses on reaching a definitive conclusion, emphasizing the completeness of the determination.

be ascertained definitively

Emphasizes the act of finding something out in a clear and decisive manner.

be confirmed unequivocally

Highlights the lack of doubt or ambiguity in the confirmation process.

be proven beyond doubt

Stresses the elimination of any uncertainty in the proof.

be verified irrefutably

Focuses on the impossibility of refuting the verification.

be settled decisively

Highlights the resolution of a question or issue in a conclusive way.

be resolved definitively

Similar to settled decisively, but emphasizes the finality of the resolution.

be understood unambiguously

Focuses on the clarity and lack of ambiguity in understanding something.

be figured out with certainty

More informal than the original phrase, but conveys the same meaning.

be known for sure

A simpler, more direct way of expressing that something is known without doubt.

FAQs

How can I use "be determined with certainty" in a sentence?

The phrase "be determined with certainty" is used to express that something has been established or decided without any doubt. For example, "The cause of the accident could not "be determined with certainty" due to lack of evidence".

What are some alternatives to "be determined with certainty"?

Alternatives include phrases like "be established conclusively", "be ascertained definitively", or "be proven beyond doubt", depending on the specific nuance you want to convey.

Is it better to use active or passive voice with "be determined with certainty"?

While "be determined with certainty" is in the passive voice and grammatically correct, using the active voice can sometimes make your writing more direct and engaging. For example, instead of saying "The results could not "be determined with certainty"", you could say "Researchers could not determine the results with certainty".

What's the difference between "be determined with certainty" and "be determined with measurement"?

"Be determined with certainty" implies a conclusive finding or decision, whereas "be determined with measurement" suggests that a specific value or quantity has been established through precise measurement. They address different aspects of determination.