Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To establish or ascertain definitely, as after consideration, investigation, or calculation: synonym: discover.
  • intransitive verb To give direction to by making decisions; devise or control.
  • intransitive verb To decide or settle (a dispute, for example) conclusively and authoritatively. synonym: decide.
  • intransitive verb To cause (someone) to come to a decision or resolution.
  • intransitive verb To be the cause of; bring about a result regarding.
  • intransitive verb Mathematics To fix or define the position, form, or configuration of.
  • intransitive verb Logic To explain or limit by adding differences.
  • intransitive verb Archaic To put an end to legally; terminate under the law.
  • intransitive verb To reach a decision; resolve.
  • intransitive verb Archaic To come to an end through legal means.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In Oxford and other universities, to take part in a solemn disputation preparatory to graduation as master of arts. See determination, 12.
  • To fix the bounds of; mark off; settle; fix; establish.
  • To limit in space or extent; form the limits of; bound; shut in: as, yonder hill determines our view.
  • To ascertain or state definitely; make out; find out; settle; decide upon, as after consideration or investigation: as, to determine the species of an animal or a plant; to determine the height of a mountain, or the quantity of nitrogen in the atmosphere.
  • In logic, to explain or limit by adding differences.
  • To bring to a conclusion; put an end to; end.
  • Specifically—6. To find, as the solution of a problem; end, as a dispute, by judicial or other final decision: as, the court determined the cause.
  • To fix or settle definitely; make specific or certain; decide the state or character of.
  • To come to a definite intention in respect of; resolve on; decide: as, he determined to remain.
  • To give direction or tendency to; decide the course of: as, impulse may determine a moving body to this or that point.
  • To influence the choice of; cause to come to a conclusion or resolution: as, this circumstance determined him to the study of law.
  • Synonyms To limit.
  • To ascertain, find out.
  • To decide, conclude.
  • To induce, influence, lead.
  • To come to a decision or resolution; settle definitively on some line of conduct.
  • To come to a close; end; terminate.
  • To come to a determinate end in time; reach a fixed or definite limit; cease to exist or to be in force.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb obsolete To come to an end; to end; to terminate.
  • intransitive verb To come to a decision; to decide; to resolve; -- often with on.
  • transitive verb To fix the boundaries of; to mark off and separate.
  • transitive verb To set bounds to; to fix the determination of; to limit; to bound; to bring to an end; to finish.
  • transitive verb To fix the form or character of; to shape; to prescribe imperatively; to regulate; to settle.
  • transitive verb To fix the course of; to impel and direct; -- with a remoter object preceded by to.
  • transitive verb To ascertain definitely; to find out the specific character or name of; to assign to its true place in a system.
  • transitive verb To bring to a conclusion, as a question or controversy; to settle authoritative or judicial sentence; to decide.
  • transitive verb To resolve on; to have a fixed intention of; also, to cause to come to a conclusion or decision; to lead.
  • transitive verb (Logic) To define or limit by adding a differentia.
  • transitive verb (Physical Sciences) To ascertain the presence, quantity, or amount of

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To set the limits of.
  • verb To ascertain definitely; to figure out.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb fix conclusively or authoritatively
  • verb find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort
  • verb fix in scope; fix the boundaries of
  • verb reach, make, or come to a decision about something
  • verb settle conclusively; come to terms
  • verb establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study
  • verb shape or influence; give direction to
  • verb decide upon or fix definitely

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English determinen, from Old French determiner, from Latin dētermināre, to limit : dē-, de- + terminus, boundary.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English determinen, from Old French determiner, French déterminer, from Latin determinare ("to bound, limit, prescribe, fix, determine"), from de + terminare ("to limit"), from terminus ("bound, limit, end").

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