determine

English

Alternative forms

• determin (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English determinen, from Old French determiner, French déterminer, from Latin determināre (“to bound, limit, prescribe, fix, determine”), from de + termināre (“to limit”), from terminus (“bound, limit, end”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈtɜːmɪn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /dɪˈtɝmɪn/

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Verb

determine (third-person singular simple present determines, present participle determining, simple past and past participle determined)

1. To set the boundaries or limits of.
   • 1611, Bible, KJV edition, Acts 17:26:

     [God] hath determined the times before appointed.

   • 1844, Francis Bacon, The Works of Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of England:

     The knowledge of men hitherto hath been determined by the view or sight.

2. To ascertain definitely; to figure out, find out, or conclude by analyzing, calculating, or investigating.
   • 2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:

     Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless.

3. To fix the form or character of; to shape; to prescribe imperatively; to regulate; to settle.
   • 1741 July 8, Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God:

     The character of the soul is determined by the character of its God.

   • 1913, W. Black, 1913 Webster's Dictionary:

     something divinely beautiful […] that at some time or other might influence or even determine her course of life

   • 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 259:

     These dramas may appear purely internal but they are perhaps economically determined … when people think they are being so subtly inventive or creative they merely reflect society's general need for economic growth.

4. To fix the course of; to impel and direct; with a remoter object preceded by to.

   The news of his father's illness determined him to depart immediately.

5. To bring to a conclusion, as a question or controversy; to settle authoritative or judicial sentence; to decide.

   The court has determined the cause.

6. To resolve (to do something); to establish a fixed intention; to cause (something) to come to a conclusion or decision; to lead.

   I determined to go home at once.

7. (logic) To define or limit by adding a differentia.
8. (law, otherwise obsolete) To bring to an end; to finish.
   • 2021, HM Land Registry, Practice guide 26: leases – determination‎, archived from the original on 4 October 2021:

     If a lease is determined by notice, forfeiture or frustration, all incumbrances will normally end automatically with the determination of the lease and can therefore be ignored.

   • c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2, act 4, scene 5:

     Now, where is he that will not stay so long / Till his friend sickness hath determined me?

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• “determine”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “determine”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “determine”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• "determine" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 98.

Anagrams

• intermede, nemertide

Galician

Verb

determine

1. inflection of determinar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Ladin

Verb

determine

1. first-person singular present indicative of determiner
2. first-person singular present subjunctive of determiner
3. third-person singular present subjunctive of determiner
4. third-person plural present subjunctive of determiner

Portuguese

Verb

determine

1. inflection of determinar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Verb

determine

1. third-person singular/plural present subjunctive of determina

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /deteɾˈmine/
• Rhymes: -ine
• Syllabification: de‧ter‧mi‧ne

Verb

determine

1. inflection of determinar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative