Definition of "determine"

determine

/dɪˈtɜːmɪn/

verb
third-person singular simple present determines, present participle determining, simple past and past participle determined
1. To set the boundaries or limits of.
  Quotations
  [God] hath determined the times before appointed.
  1611, Bible, KJV edition, Acts 17:26
  The knowledge of men hitherto hath been determined by the view or sight.
  1844, Francis Bacon, The Works of Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of England
2. To ascertain definitely; to figure out, find out, or conclude by analyzing, calculating, or investigating.
  Quotations
  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.
  2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
3. To fix the form or character of; to shape; to prescribe imperatively; to regulate; to settle.
  Quotations
  The character of the soul is determined by the character of its God.
  1741 July 8, Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
  something divinely beautiful […] that at some time or other might influence or even determine her course of life
  1913, W. Black, 1913 Webster's Dictionary
  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.
  1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, page 259
4. To fix the course of; to impel and direct; with a remoter object preceded by to.
5. To bring to a conclusion, as a question or controversy; to settle authoritative or judicial sentence; to decide.
6. To resolve (to do something); to establish a fixed intention; to cause (something) to come to a conclusion or decision; to lead.
7. (logic) To define or limit by adding a differentia.
8. (law, otherwise obsolete) To bring to an end; to finish.
  Quotations
  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.
  2021, HM Land Registry, Practice guide 26: leases – determination‎, archived from the original on 4 October 2021
  Now, where is he that will not stay so long / Till his friend sickness hath determined me?
  c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2, act 4, scene 5

Definition of "determine"

determine

verb

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