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. {ant. 477} reasoning, ratiocination, rationalism, dialectics, induction, generalization, discussion, comment, ventilation, inquiry, argumentation, controversy, debate, polemics, wrangling, contention logomachy, disputation, disceptation, paper war, art of reasoning, logic, process of reasoning, train of reasoning, chain of reasoning, deduction, induction, abduction, synthesis, analysis, argument, case, plaidoyer, opening, lemma, proposition, terms, premises, postulate, data, starting point, principle, inference, prosyllogism, syllogism, enthymeme, sorites, dilemma, perilepsis, a priori reasoning, reductio ad absurdum, horns of a dilemma, argumentum ad hominem, comprehensive argument, empirema, epagoge, reasoner, logician, dialectician, disputant, controversialist, controvertist, wrangler, arguer, debater polemic, casuist, rationalist, scientist, eristic, logical sequence, good case, correct just reasoning, sound reasoning, valid reasoning, cogent reasoning, logical reasoning, forcible reasoning, persuasive reasoning, persuasory reasoning, consectary reasoning|, conclusive, subtle reasoning, force of argument, strong point, strong argument, persuasive argument, arguments, reasons, pros and cons

V. reason, argue, discuss, debate, dispute, wrangle- argufy, bandy words, bandy arguments, chop logic, hold an argument, carry on an argument, controvert, canvass, comment upon, moralize upon, spiritualize, consider, open a discussion, open a case, try conclusions, join issue, be at issue, moot, come to the point, stir a question, agitate a question, ventilate a question, torture a question, take up a side, take up a case, contend, take one's stand upon, insist, lay stress on, infer, follow from

Adj. reasoning, rationalistic, argumentative, controversial, dialectic, polemical, discursory, discursive, disputatious, aristotelian, eristic, eristical, debatable, controvertible, logical, relevant

Adv. for, because, hence, whence, seeing that, since, sith, then thence so, for that reason, for this reason, for which reason, for as, inasmuch as, whereas, ex concesso, considering, in consideration of, therefore, wherefore, consequently, ergo, thus, accordingly, a fortiori, in conclusion, in fine, finally, after all, au bout du compt, on the whole, taking one thing with another

Phr. ab actu ad posse valet consecutio, per troppo dibatter la verita si perde, troppo disputare la verita fa errare

N. unbelief, disbelief, misbelief, discredit, miscreance, infidelity, dissent, change of opinion, retraction, doubt, skepticism, scepticism, misgiving, demure, distrust, mistrust, cynicism, misdoubt, suspicion, jealousy, scruple, qualm, onus probandi, incredibility, incredibleness, incredulity, doubter, skeptic, cynic, unbeliever

V. disbelieve, discredit, not believe, misbelieve, refuse to admit, refuse to believe, doubt, be doubtful, doubt the truth of, be skeptical as to, diffide|, distrust, mistrust, suspect, smoke, scent, smell a rat, have doubts, harbor doubts, entertain doubts, suspicions, have one's doubts, demure, stick at, pause, hesitate, scruple, stop to consider, waver, hang in suspense, hang in doubt, throw doubt upon, raise a question, bring in, call in question, question, challenge, dispute, deny, cavil, cause a doubt, raise a doubt, start a doubt, suggest a doubt, awake a doubt, make suspicion, ergotize, startle, stagger, shake one's faith, shake one's belief, stagger one's faith, stagger one's belief

Adj. unbelieving, skeptical, sceptical, incredulous as to, skeptical as to, distrustful as to, shy as to, suspicious of, doubting, doubtful, disputable, unworthy of, undeserving of belief, questionable, suspect, suspicious, open to suspicion, open to doubt, staggering, hard to believe, incredible, unbelievable, not to be believed, inconceivable, impossible, fallible, undemonstrable, controvertible

Adv. cum grano salis, with grains of allowance

Phr. fronti nulla fides, nimium ne crede colori, "timeo danaos et dona ferentes", beware of greeks bearing gifts, credat judaeus apella, let those believe who may, ad tristem partem stenua est suspicio

N. error, fallacy, misconception, misapprehension, misstanding, misunderstanding, inexactness, laxity, misconstruction, miscomputation, non sequitur, mis-statement, mis-report, mumpsimus, mistake, miss, fault, blunder, quiproquo, cross purposes, oversight, misprint, erratum, corrigendum, slip, blot, flaw, loose thread, trip, stumble, botchery, slip of the tongue, slip of the lip, freudian slip, slip of the pen, lapsus linguae, clerical error, bull, haplography, illusion, delusion, snare, false impression, false idea, bubble, self- decit, self-deception, mists of error, heresy, hallucination, false light, dream, fable, bias, misleading

V. be erroneous, cause error, mislead, misguide, lead astray, lead into error, beguile, misinform, delude, give a false impression, give a false idea, falsify, misstate, deceive, lie, err, be -in error, be mistaken, be deceived, mistake, receive a false impression, deceive oneself, fall into error, lie under error, labor under an error, be in the wrong, blunder, misapprehend, misconceive, misunderstand, misreckon, miscount, miscalculate, play at cross purposes, be at cross purposes, trip, stumble, lose oneself, go astray, fail, be in the wrong box, take the wrong sow by the ear, put the saddle on the wrong horse, reckon without one's host, take the shadow for the substance, dream

Adj. erroneous, untrue, false, devoid of truth, fallacious, apocryphal, unreal, ungrounded, groundless, unsubstantial, heretical, unsound, illogical, inexact, unexact inaccurate, incorrect, indefinite, illusive, illusory, delusive, mock, ideal, spurious, deceitful, perverted, controvertible, unsustainable, unauthenticated, untrustworthy, exploded, refuted, discarded, in error, under an error, mistaken, tripping, out, out in one's reckoning, aberrant, beside the mark, wide of the mark, wide of the truth, way off, far off, astray, on a false scent, on the wrong scent, in the wrong box, outside the ballpark, at cross purposes, all in the wrong, all out

Adv. more or less

Phr. errare est humanum, mentis gratissimus error, "on the dubious waves of error tost", "to err is human, to forgive divine", "you lie—under a mistake"