determinate
/dɪˈtɜːmɪnət/
determinate adjective: distinct, clearly defined.
Adjective
determinate (not comparable)
- Distinct, clearly defined.
- Quantity of words and a determinate number of feet.1668, John Dryden, Essay of Dramatick Poesie
- […] on account of his responsibility to Norman and Marigold, and on account of his now determinate age, he considered himself ineligible for more dangerous service.1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter VIII, in Capricornia, page 122
- Fixed, determined, set, unvarying.
- […] hym have ye taken by the hondes of vnrightewes perſones / after he was delivered by the determinat counſell and fore knoweledge of God / and have crucified and ſlayne hym / […]1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts :[23], folio clv, verso
- [S]he watched impatiently for the dawn of day, with that determinate purpoſe which generally inſures ſucceſs.1798, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, “[Maria: or, The] Wrongs of Woman”, in W[illiam] Godwin, editor, Posthumous Works of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. […], volume I, London: […]...
- Of growth: ending once a genetically predetermined structure has formed.
- Conclusive; decisive; positive.
- Determined or resolved upon.
- My determinate voyage.c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
- Francesca saw the danger of allowing this apathy to increase, and would fain have laid down some determinate scheme, and sought some fixed home and employment, which must have brought its occupations, its habits, and, finally, its interests.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 114
- Of determined purpose; resolute.
- More determinate to do than skilfull how to do.a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London...
Noun
determinate (plural determinates)
- A single state of a particular determinable attribute.
- And since being negatively-charged and being positively-charged are determinates of the same determinable, [D5] will not permit us to infer worlds where anything negatively-charged is also positively-charged.2007 September 5, David Denby, “Generating possibilities”, in Philosophical Studies, volume 141, number 2, →DOI
Verb
determinate (third-person singular simple present determinates, present participle determinating, simple past and past participle determinated)
- To bring to an end; to determine.
- The sly, slow hours shall not determinate / The dateless limit of thy dear exile.1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to...
determinate meaning in Tamil, Bengali and Malayalam
determinate in Tamil
- தேர்ந்த
determinate in Bengali
- সুনির্দিষ্ট, নির্ধারিত, প্রকৃতি স্পষ্টভাবে জানা
determinate in Malayalam
- specified, fixed, settled
- നിശ്ചിതം, സ്ഥിരീകൃതമായ, ദൃഢീകൃതമായ, ദൃംഹിത, ഉറച്ച, ഉറപ്പിക്കപ്പെട്ട
Antonyms of determinate
- indeterminate
- nondeterminate
- antonym(s) of
Forms of determinate
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | determinates |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | determinates |
| present participle | determinating |
| past participle | determinated |
| past | determinated |
Origin of determinate
From Middle English determinate, determynat, determinat, from Latin dēterminātus, perfect passive participle of dēterminō (“to limit, set bounds”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more.
From a substantivation of the above adjective. See -ate (noun-forming suffix) for more.
From Middle English determinaten, from determinat + -en, see Etymology 1 and -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more. Compare French déterminer.
Words formed from determinate
Phrases with determinate
Questions about determinate
- What does determinate mean?
- Determinate means distinct, clearly defined.
- What is determinate in Tamil?
- Determinate in Tamil is தேர்ந்த. See Determinate meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is determinate?
- Determinate can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce determinate?
- Determinate is pronounced /dɪˈtɜːmɪnət/ (UK).
Words near determinate in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: determinate (page history and authors); determinate (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Determinate (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); determinate (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “determinate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/determinate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.