The phrase "rather certain" is grammatically correct and can be used in written English.
It means that something is more certain or definite than expected. Example: I was rather certain that I had locked the door before leaving the house, but when I returned, it was wide open.
The geology of Antarctica is known sufficiently well to allow rather certain prediction of the existence of a variety of mineral deposits, some probably large.
Why not also deconstruct this ominous stealth phrase and reveal it for what it is: an illegitimate and unwise attempt to tear down the wall of separation between church and state and to force religion (or rather, certain people's religion) into the public arena.
By that I do not mean extreme militarism or a love of silly hats, or even a shared tendency to autism when it comes to understanding the perceptions of other countries, but rather certain structural features in both the Wilhemine and the US system tending to produce over-ambition, and above all a chronic incapacity to choose between diametrically opposite goals.
But when, during the Presidential campaign that year, Reagan made his famous comments about the "welfare queen," they were widely taken to mean that the problem wasn't poor people in general but, rather, certain blacks in inner cities, who were purportedly cheating the system (and whose votes the Republican Party had already jettisoned).
Rather, certain conditions can cause subcritical clusters (embryos) to survive and supercritical clusters (nuclei) to dissolve.
Furthermore, nanotechnology is most often represented as rather certain and the media coverage emphasizes positive aspects and benefits.
They would rather be certain.
He writes with real subtlety and skill about the sonnets -- suggestive rather than certain about what they tell us of Shakespeare the man.
If McEwan has a prejudice against anyone, I think it may be against men – or, rather, a certain type of man.
It expresses rather a certain philosophical disappointment that a definition can't be offered.
It follows that the conclusion of the argument is reasonable rather than certain.
