Learn English – Which is more certain – “sure” or “confident”

differencesusage

My friend and I have an ongoing debate over which word communicates a stronger sense of conviction.

For example, when I'm 98% positive of something I often say "I am confident that's how it happened, but I'm not sure."

He argues that it should be the other way around.

All the dictionaries that I've consulted have used one word in the definition of the other. So far, they're starting to look like synonyms. Is this debate even resolvable?

Best Answer

They are synonyms, but that doesn't mean they are exactly the same.

According to Dictionary.com,

Sure, certain, confident, positive indicate full belief and trust that something is true. Sure, certain, and positive are often used interchangeably. Sure, the simplest and most general, expresses mere absence of doubt. Certain suggests that there are definite reasons that have freed one from doubt. Confident emphasizes the strength of the belief or the certainty of expectation felt. Positive implies emphatic certainty, which may even become overconfidence or dogmatism.

Unfortunately, almost no online dictionaries discuss connotations of words, or this would be more easily answered.

Related Topic