Adj. irregular, uncertain,
unpunctual,
capricious,
desultory, fitful,
flickering,
rambling, rhapsodical,
spasmodic,
immethodical, unmethodical, variable
Adv. irregularly, by fits and starts, 1, simple change
N. # indiscrimination, indistinguishability, indistinctness, indistinction, uncertainty, incomparability
V. not discriminate, overlook a distinction: confound,
confuse Phr. valeat quantum valere potest
N. uncertainty,
incertitude, doubt, doubtfulness,
dubiety,
dubitation, dubitancy|, dubitousness,
hesitation,
suspense,
perplexity,
embarrassment,
dilemma,
bewilderment,
timidity,
vacillation,
diaporesis, indetermination, vagueness,
haze,
fog, obscurity,
ambiguity,
contingency,
dependence,
dependency, double contingency, possibility upon a possibility, open question, onus probandi, blind bargain, pig in a poke, leap in the dark, something or other, needle in a haystack, needle in a bottle of hay, roving commission,
precariousness,
fallibility V. be uncertain, wonder whether, lose the clue, lose the clew,
scent, miss one's way, not know what to make of, not know which way to turn, not know whether one stands on one's head or one's heels, float in a sea of doubt,
hesitate,
flounder, lose oneself, lose one's head, muddle one's brains, render uncertain, put out,
pose,
puzzle,
perplex,
embarrass,
confuse,
confound,
bewilder, bother,
molder, addle the wits, throw off the scent, ambiguas in vulgus spargere voces, keep in suspense, doubt, hang in the balance, tremble in the balance, depend
Adj. uncertain,
casual,
random, changeable, doubtful,
dubious, indecisive, unsettled, undecided, undetermined, in suspense, open to discussion,
controvertible, in question, vague,
indeterminate, indefinite,
ambiguous,
equivocal, undefined,
undefinable, confused,
mystic,
oracular,
dazed,
perplexing,
enigmatic,
paradoxical,
apocryphal,
problematical,
hypothetical, experimental, unpredictable, unforeseeable (unknowable) 519, fallible, questionable,
precarious,
slippery,
ticklish,
debatable, disputable,
unreliable, untrustworthy,
contingent, contingent on, dependent on, subject to, dependent on circumstances, occasional,
provisional, unauthentic,
unauthenticated, unauthoritative, unascertained, unconfirmed, undemonstrated, untold, uncounted, in a state of uncertainty, in a cloud, in a maze,
bushed, off the track, ignorant,
&c. 491, afraid to say, out of one's reckoning,
astray,
adrift, at sea, at fault, at a loss, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus,
puzzled, lost, abroad, dsorient, distracted,
distraught Adv. pendente lite, sub spe rati
Phr. heaven knows, who can tell? who shall decide when doctors disagree? ambiguas in vulgum spargere voces
N. unintelligibility,
incomprehensibility,
imperspicuity,
inconceivableness, vagueness, obscurity,
ambiguity, doubtful meaning,
uncertainty,
perplexity,
spinosity, obscurum per obscurius,
mystification,
latency,
transcendentalism,
paradox,
oxymoron,
riddle,
enigma,
puzzle, diagnus vindice nodus, sealed book,
steganography,
freemasonry, pons asinorum, asses' bridge, high dutch, greek, hebrew,
jargon V. be unintelligible, require explanation, have a doubtful meaning, pass comprehension, render unintelligible,
conceal,
darken,
confuse,
perplex, not understand, lose, lose the clue, miss, not know what to make of, be able to make nothing of, give it up, not be able to account for, not be able to make either head or tail of, be at sea, wonder, see through a glass darkly, not understand one another, play at cross purposes
Adj. unintelligible, unaccountable,
undecipherable, undiscoverable, unknowable,
unfathomable,
incognizable,
inexplicable,
inscrutable,
inapprehensible,
incomprehensible,
insolvable, insoluble,
impenetrable,
illegible, as greek to one, unexplained,
paradoxical,
enigmatic,
enigmatical, puzzling (secret) 533,
indecipherable, obscure, dark,
muddy, clear as mud, seen through a mist,
dim,
nebulous, shrouded in mystery,
opaque, dense,
undiscernible,
misty, hidden,
latent, indefinite,
garbled,
perplexed, undetermined, vague, loose,
ambiguous,
mysterious,
mystic,
mystical,
acroamatic,
acroamatical,
metempirical,
transcendental,
occult,
recondite,
abstruse,
crabbed, inconceivable,
inconceptible, searchless, above comprehension, beyond comprehension, past comprehension, beyond one's depth, unconceived, inexpressible,
undefinable,
incommunicable, unpredictable,
unforeseeable Phr. it's greek to me
N. irresolution, infirmity of purpose, indecision, indetermination, undetermination|, unsettlement,
uncertainty,
demur,
suspense,
hesitating,
hesitation,
hesitancy,
vacillation,
changeableness,
fluctuation,
alternation,
caprice,
fickleness,
levity, legerete,
pliancy, weakness,
timidity,
cowardice, half measures,
waverer, ass between two bundles of hay,
shuttlecock,
butterfly, wimp,
doughface V. be irresolute, hang in suspense, keep in suspense, leave "ad referendum", think twice about,
pause,
dawdle, remain neuter, dillydally,
hesitate,
boggle,
hover, dacker, hum and haw,
demur, not know one's own mind,
debate, balance, dally with, coquet with, will and will not, chaser-balancer, go halfway,
compromise, make a compromise, be thrown off one's balance, stagger like a drunken man, be afraid, "let 'i dare not' wait upon 'i would'",
falter, waver vacillate, change, retract,
fluctuate,
pendulate, alternate, keep off and on, play fast and loose, blow hot and cold,
shuffle,
palter,
blink,
trim Adj. irresolute, infirm of purpose,
double-minded,
half-hearted, undecided, unresolved, undetermined,
shilly-shally,
fidgety,
tremulous,
hesitating, off one's balance, at a loss,
vacillating, unsteady,
unsteadfast,
fickle, without ballast,
capricious, volatile,
frothy, light,
lightsome,
light-minded,
giddy, fast and loose, weak,
feeble-minded,
frail,
timid, wimpish, wimpy,
cowardly,
dough-faced,
facile,
pliant, unable to say "no",
easy-going,
revocable, reversible
Int. "how happy could i be with either!"
N. chance, lot, fate,
luck, good luck,
mascot, speculation,
venture,
stake, game of chance, mere shot, random shot, blind bargain, leap in the dark, pig in a poke,
fluke,
potluck, faro bank, flyer*, limit,
uncertainty, uncertainty principle, heisenberg's uncertainty principle, drawing lots,
sortilegy, sortition|, sortes, sortes virgilianae, rouge et noir,
hazard,
ante, chuck-a-luck, crack-loo,
craps,
faro,
roulette, pitch and toss,
chuck,
farthing, cup tossing, heads or tails cross and pile, poker-dice,
wager,
bet,
betting,
gambling, the turf, gaming house, gambling house, betting house,
bucket shop, gambling joint, totalizator, totalizer,
hell, betting ring,
dice, dice box,
gambler,
gamester, man of the turf,
adventurer, dicer|
V. chance, stand a chance, toss up, cast lots, draw lots, leave to chance, trust to chance, leave to the chapter of accidents, trust to the chapter of accidents, tempt fortune, chance it, take one's chance, take a shot at it (attempt) 675, run the risk, run the chance, incur the risk, incur the chance, encounter the risk, encounter the chance, stand the hazard of the die,
speculate, try one's luck, set on a cast,
raffle, put into a lottery, buy a pig in a poke, shuffle the cards, risk,
venture,
hazard,
stake,
ante, lay, lay a wager, make a bet,
wager,
bet,
gamble, game, play for, play at chuck farthing
Adj. fortuitous,
unintentional, unintended, accidental, not meant, undesigned, purposed,
unpremeditated,
unforeseen, uncontemplated, never thought of,
random,
indiscriminate,
promiscuous, undirected, aimless, driftless, designless, purposeless, causeless, without purpose, possible,
unforeseeable, unpredictable, chancy,
risky, speculative, dicey
Adv. randomly, by chance,
fortuitously, unpredictably, unforeseeably,
casually,
unintentionally,
unwittingly, en passant, by the way,
incidentally, as it may happen, at random, at a venture, at haphazard
Phr. acierta errando, dextro tempore, "fearful concatenation of circumstances", "fortuitous combination of circumstances", le jeu est le fils d'avarice et le pere du desespoir, "the happy combination of fortuitous circumstances", "the fortuitous or casual concourse of atoms", "god does not play dice with the universe"
