Library / English Dictionary

DETERMINE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Reach, make, or come to a decision about something

Example:

We finally decided after lengthy deliberations

Synonyms:

decide; determine; make up one's mind

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

"Determine" entails doing...:

debate; deliberate (discuss the pros and cons of an issue)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "determine"):

measure; measure out; mensurate (determine the measurements of something or somebody, take measurements of)

choose; pick out; select; take (pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives)

will (determine by choice)

seal (decide irrevocably)

purpose; resolve (reach a decision)

decree; rule (decide with authority)

orient; orientate (determine one's position with reference to another point)

adjudicate; judge; try (put on trial or hear a case and sit as the judge at the trial of)

govern; order; regularise; regularize; regulate (bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Somebody ----s whether INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They determine to move

Derivation:

determinant (having the power or quality of deciding)

determination (the act of making up your mind about something)

determination (a position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Fix conclusively or authoritatively

Example:

set the rules

Synonyms:

determine; set

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "determine"):

price (determine the price of)

assess; tax (set or determine the amount of (a payment such as a fine))

initialise; initialize (assign an initial value to a computer program)

charge (set or ask for a certain price)

format (determine the arrangement of (data) for storage and display (in computer science))

filiate (fix the paternity of)

value (fix or determine the value of; assign a value to)

date (assign a date to; determine the (probable) date of)

identify; place (recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Somebody ----s to somebody

Derivation:

determination (the act of making up your mind about something)

determination (a position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Fix in scope; fix the boundaries of

Example:

the tree determines the border of the property

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "determine" is one way to...):

define; delimit; delimitate; delineate; specify (determine the essential quality of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "determine"):

nail down; narrow; narrow down; peg down; pin down; specify (define clearly)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

determination (the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Shape or influence; give direction to

Example:

mold public opinion

Synonyms:

determine; influence; mold; regulate; shape

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "determine" is one way to...):

cause; do; make (give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "determine"):

predetermine (determine beforehand)

pace (regulate or set the pace of)

index (adjust through indexation)

time (set the speed, duration, or execution of)

reshape (shape anew or differently)

decide (influence or determine)

carry weight (have influence to a specified degree)

miscreate (shape or form or make badly)

disincline; indispose (make unwilling)

dispose; incline (make receptive or willing towards an action or attitude or belief)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s something
Somebody ----s whether INFINITIVE

Derivation:

determinant (a determining or causal element or factor)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Settle conclusively; come to terms

Example:

We finally settled the argument

Synonyms:

determine; settle; square off; square up

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "determine" is one way to...):

conclude; resolve (reach a conclusion after a discussion or deliberation)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "determine"):

clear; solve (settle, as of a debt)

concert (settle by agreement)

clinch (settle conclusively)

compromise (settle by concession)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

determination (the act of making up your mind about something)

determination (a position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration)

determiner (an argument that is conclusive)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study

Example:

The physicist who found the elusive particle won the Nobel Prize

Synonyms:

ascertain; determine; find; find out

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Verb group:

ascertain; check; determine; find out; learn; see; watch (find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort)

discover; find (make a discovery, make a new finding)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "determine"):

locate; situate (determine or indicate the place, site, or limits of, as if by an instrument or by a survey)

admeasure (determine the quantity of someone's share)

count; enumerate; number; numerate (determine the number or amount of)

refract (determine the refracting power of (a lens))

sequence (determine the order of constituents in)

redetermine (fix, find, or establish again)

rectify (math: determine the length of)

translate (determine the amino-acid sequence of a protein during its synthesis by using information on the messenger RNA)

gauge (determine the capacity, volume, or contents of by measurement and calculation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s whether INFINITIVE

Derivation:

determination (the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation)

determination (the act of making up your mind about something)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort

Example:

Check whether the train leaves on time

Synonyms:

ascertain; check; determine; find out; learn; see; watch

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Verb group:

ascertain; assure; check; control; ensure; insure; see; see to it (be careful or certain to do something; make certain of something)

ascertain; determine; find; find out (establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "determine"):

test (determine the presence or properties of (a substance))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s whether INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They determine whether there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

determination (the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Decide upon or fix definitely

Example:

specify the parameters

Synonyms:

define; determine; fix; limit; set; specify

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "determine" is one way to...):

choose; pick out; select; take (pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "determine"):

quantify (use as a quantifier)

name (mention and identify by name)

reset (set anew)

define (give a definition for the meaning of a word)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

determinant (having the power or quality of deciding)

determiner (a determining or causal element or factor)

determiner (one of a limited class of noun modifiers that determine the referents of noun phrases)

Credits

 Context examples: 

We have been privileged, he cried, strutting about like a gamecock, to be present at one of the typical decisive battles of history—the battles which have determined the fate of the world.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“I am a determined character,” said Mr. Creakle.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A myriad laws governed all these things and determined conduct; yet he did not know the speech of the gods, nor was there any way for him to learn save by experience.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

"Very well," I responded, mentally, stand if you like; but you shall not go just yet, I am determined: solitude is at least as bad for you as it is for me.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

He was determined to make it by marriage.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

In point of fact the three actions of perceiving, determining, and responding were sequential; but so infinitesimal were the intervals of time between them that they appeared simultaneous.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Sir William and Lady Lucas are determined to go, merely on that account, for in general, you know, they visit no newcomers.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

The MTD is determined in clinical trials by testing increasing doses on different groups of people until the highest dose with acceptable side effects is found.

(MTD, NCI Dictionary)

By definition, this diagnosis is for lesions that are nonreactive, persistent, and genetically determined.

(Mouse Myeloid Proliferation, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

One of the 12 divisions of a year as determined by a calendar.

(Month, NCI Thesaurus)