uncertainty

UNCER'TAINTY, n.

1. doubtfulness; dubiousness. The truth is not ascertained; the latest accounts have not removed the uncertainty.

2. Want of certainty; want of precision; as the uncertainty of the signification of words.

3. Contingency.

Steadfastly grasping the greatest and most slippery uncertainties.

4. Something unknown.

Our shepherd's case is every man's case that quits a certainty for an uncertainty.