a type of modality that expresses the attitude of a speaker or other conceiver toward the truth of the situation described in the clause – that is, degree of certainty that the situation is true. Example: Jerry might get his hair cut is an instance of epistemic modality – the speaker is expressing a relatively neutral attitude toward whether the future situation will actually come about. Epistemic modality is construed broadly in this textbook, to include objective as well as subjective characterization of the epistemic modal attitude. (Sections 12.1, 12.3.4)