Meaning & use
virtual certainty
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Meanings
phrasefixed phraseformal
a situation in which something is almost sure to happen or be true, with very little doubt remaining
Grammar: Used after 'a' or 'the', often with 'that' or 'of': a virtual certainty that something will happen, or a virtual certainty of something.
Patterns
- a virtual certainty that something will happen
- a virtual certainty of something
- be a virtual certainty
After months of dry weather, a water shortage is now a virtual certainty.
It is a virtual certainty that the new policy will be debated in parliament.
The team's victory was a virtual certainty by the final minute of the match.
phrasecountableformal
a person or thing that is almost guaranteed to succeed or happen
Grammar: Used with 'a' or 'the' before the phrase, and often followed by 'for' or 'to': a virtual certainty for promotion, a virtual certainty to win.
Patterns
- a virtual certainty for something
- a virtual certainty to do something
She is a virtual certainty for the national team next season.
With such strong support, the bill is a virtual certainty to pass.
Common combinations
- a virtual certainty that
- There is a virtual certainty that prices will rise again next year.
- a virtual certainty of
- The report pointed to a virtual certainty of further job losses.
- be a virtual certainty
- A win for the home side seemed a virtual certainty from the start.
- almost a virtual certainty
- After the latest polls, his re-election is almost a virtual certainty.
Synonyms and how they differ
- near certainty
- Very similar in meaning, but 'near certainty' is slightly less formal and more common in everyday speech.
- inevitability
- Focuses on the fact that something cannot be avoided, rather than on the high probability; it is a noun, not a phrase with 'a'.
- sure thing
- Informal and often used for a person or team that is expected to win; it does not carry the formal tone of 'virtual certainty'.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: virtual certainty or virtual reality?
virtual certainty vs virtual reality
This is a computer-generated environment, not a phrase about probability. The word 'virtual' here means 'almost' rather than 'computer-simulated'.
Practice
The team's star player is injured, so a loss in the final is now a virtual ______.
Choose one answer.
The phrase 'a virtual certainty' needs the noun 'certainty' after 'virtual'. 'Certain' is an adjective, 'certainly' is an adverb, and 'certainties' is plural, which does not fit with 'a'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “virtual certainty”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.