a certain

idiom

—used to refer to a quality that is noticed but that is difficult to explain or describe

She has a certain elegance about her.

The house has a certain charm.

formal

—used with the name of a person one does not know

In 1889, a certain Mr. Kelly made a large donation to the church.

Examples of a certain in a Sentence

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The company is subject to regulatory requirements as a business development company, including maintaining a certain percentage of qualifying assets and adhering to leverage restrictions. —

Quartz Bot, Quartz, 19 Nov. 2024 Does this mean that LaPaglia couldn’t talk about Bryan for a certain amount of time? —

Claudia Rosenbaum, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024 And the movie attempts something even more audacious, bringing in an infamous incident, a certain shout of betrayal from the crowd, that actually happened in the U.K. a year later. —

Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2024 Even Islam, with its heavy emphasis on charity, recognizes this: that’s why only those who have money over and above a certain minimum amount of wealth are obligated to pay zakat. —

Sigal Samuel, Vox, 18 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for a certain