determine
//dɪˈtɜː(ɹ).mɪn//
Forms
- present (v1)
- determine
- past (v2)
- determined
- past participle (v3)
- determined
- present participle
- determining
- 3rd person singular
- determines
Definitions
1.To set the boundaries or limits of.
2.To ascertain definitely; to figure out, find out, or conclude by analyzing, calculating, or investigating.
- 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.
- The character of the soul is determined by the character of its God.
- 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.
Frequency
Overall
Common· #832
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Common
- Academic
- Uncommon
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Synonyms
Word family
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”).