Word.ws English Dictionary

resolve

UK/ɹɪˈzɒlv//ɹɪˈzɑlv/

resolve verb: to find a solution to (a problem). Also the alternative spelling of re-solve.

Verb

resolve (third-person singular simple present resolves, present participle resolving, simple past and past participle resolved)

  1. (transitive) To find a solution to (a problem).
    • Exeter. Shall I call in Thambaſſadors my Liege? / King. Not yet my Couſin, til we be reſolude / Of ſome ſerious matters touching vs and France.1599 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Cronicle History of Henry the Fift, […] (First Quarto), London: […] Thomas Creede, for Tho[mas] Millington, and Iohn Busby […], published 1600, →OCLC...
  2. (transitive) To reduce to simple or intelligible notions; to make clear or certain; to unravel; to explain.
    • to resolve a riddle
    • Resolve my doubt.c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
  3. (intransitive) To make a firm decision to do something. To become determined to reach a certain goal or take a certain action.
    • I resolve to finish this work before I go home.
    • At length, one night, when the company by ſome accident broke up much ſooner than ordinary, ſo that the candles were not half burnt out, ſhe was not able to reſiſt the temptation, but reſolved to have them ſome way or other. Accordingly, as ſoon as the hurry was over, and the ſervants, as ſhe...1762, Charles Johnstone, The Reverie; or, A Flight to the Paradise of Fools, volume 2, Dublin: […] Dillon Chamberlaine, →OCLC, page 202
  4. (transitive) To determine or decide in purpose; to make ready in mind; to fix; to settle.
    • He was resolved by an unexpected event.
    • Gentlemen, importune me no farther, / For hovv I firmly am reſolu'd you knovv: / That is, not to beſtovv my yongeſt daughter, / Before I haue a husband for the elder: […]c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  5. To come to an agreement or make peace; patch up relationship, settle differences, bury the hatchet.
    • After two weeks of bickering, they finally resolved their differences.
  6. (intransitive, reflexive, transitive) To break down into constituent parts; to decompose; to disintegrate; to return to a simpler constitution or a primeval state.
    • The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.
    • O, that this too too solid flesh would melt, / Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
  7. To cause to perceive or understand; to acquaint; to inform; to convince; to assure; to make certain.
    • In health, good air, pleasure, riches, I am resolved it cannot be equalled by any region.1596, Walter Raleigh, The discovery of the large, rich, and beautiful Empire of Guiana, with a relation of the great and golden city of Manoa
    • We must be resolved how the law can be pure and perspicuous, and yet throw a polluted skirt over these Eleusinian mysteries.1643, J[ohn] M[ilton], The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce: […], London: […] T[homas] P[aine] and M[atthew] S[immons] […], →OCLC
  8. To cause a chord to go from dissonance to consonance.
  9. To render visible or distinguishable the parts of something.
    • The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist
  10. To find the IP address of a hostname, or the entity referred to by a symbol in source code; to look up.
  11. (rare, transitive) To melt; to dissolve; to liquefy or soften (a solid).
    • With milke-white Hartes vpon an Iuorie ſled, / Thou ſhalt be drawen amidſt the froſen Pooles, / And ſcale the yſie mountaines lofty tops: / Which with thy beautie will be soone reſolu’d.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
  12. (intransitive, rare, reflexive) To melt; to dissolve; to become liquid.
    • When the blood stagnates in any part, it first coagulates, then resolves, and turns alkaline.1731, John Arbuthnot, An Essay Concerning the Nature of Aliments, and the Choice of Them, According to the Different Constitutions of Human Bodies. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson […], →OCLC
Show 5 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (obsolete, transitive) To liquefy (a gas or vapour).
  2. (dated) To disperse or scatter; to discuss, as an inflammation or a tumour.
  3. (obsolete) To relax; to lie at ease.
    • resolve himself into all sports and looseness again1641, Ben Jonson, Discoveries Made upon Men and Matter
  4. To separate racemic compounds into their enantiomers.
  5. (archaic, transitive) To solve (an equation, etc.).

Noun

resolve (countable and uncountable, plural resolves)

  1. (uncountable) Determination; will power.
    • It took all my resolve to go through with the surgery.
    • Stripped of all bravado, Cersei breaks, and shows the very scared, vulnerable woman who has kept her emotions at bay. “I don’t want to die,” she whimpers, “Not like this.” It’s all the more moving for coming from a character who built her identity on steely resolve and contempt for such hoary...2019 May 12, Alex McLevy, “Westeros faces a disastrous final battle on the penultimate Game of Thrones (newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 15 May 2019
  2. (countable) A determination to do something; a fixed decision.
    • And the having individually entertained four such resolves, without perceiving that once brought together, they all mutually expire; this, this ineffable folly, Pierre, brands thee in the forehead for an unaccountable infatuate!1852, Herman Melville, Pierre; or The Ambiguities
    • His resolve to die is weakening as he grows accustomed to Sophie's absence, and all his attempts to master irresolution only augment it.1995, William Arctander O'Brien, Novalis, Signs of Revolution, page 56
  3. (countable) An act of resolving something; resolution.
    • Still, my mother said she loved me and the conversation soon ended, without resolve; possibly, this is also a dialog which is only beginning, or rather continuing.1986, Daniel Garrett, “Creating Ourselves: An Open Letter”, in Joseph Beam, editor, In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology, page 94
    • Some operations require data that, in turn, requires that lightweight components be resolved. In these cases, this option determines whether the user is prompted to approve the resolve or whether components are just resolved automatically.2008, Matt Lombard, SolidWorks 2007 Bible, page 956

Also used as

resolve is also the alternative spelling of re-solve.

resolve meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada

resolve in Hindi

to find a solution to
ठानना ṭhānnā
to make a firm decision
संकल्प करना saṅkalp karnā
will power
निश्चय niścay, इच्छाशक्ति icchāśakti, संकल्प saṅkalp

resolve in Tamil

தீர்ப்பதற்கு

resolve in Telugu

to find a solution to
పరిష్కరించు pariṣkariñcu

resolve in Kannada

ಬಗೆಹರಿಸಲು
More languagesFewer languages
resolve in Gujarati
ઉકેલવા
resolve in Arabic
حَلَّ ḥalla
resolve in Persian
حل کردن hal kardan
resolve in Thai
ตั้งมั่น, มุ่งมั่น mûng-mân, ตั้งใจ dtâng-jai

Examples of resolve in a sentence

  • Reſolve me Reaſon, vvhich of theſe is vvorſe, / VVant vvith a full, or vvith an empty purſe: […]1733 (indicated as 1732), [Alexander] Pope, Of the Use of Riches, an Epistle to the Right Honourable Allen Lord Bathurst, London: […] J....
  • “I don’t want to die,” she whimpers, “Not like this.” It’s all the more moving for coming from a character who built her identity on steely resolve and contempt for such hoary conceits as fear.2019 May 12, Alex McLevy, “Westeros faces a disastrous final battle on the penultimate Game of Thrones (newbies)”, in The A.V. Club...
  • Alan Pardew's current squad has been put together with a relatively low budget but the resolve and unity within the team is priceless.2011 October 1, Saj Chowdhury, “Wolverhampton 1 - 2 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport:
  • I wish for unending resolve, to always get up when I fall.2018, Jhariah Clare, “Sunsets (Resilience)”, in The Great Tale of How I Ruined it All:

All 40 example sentences with resolve

Synonyms of resolve

14 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of resolve

Forms of resolve

Verb
third-person singular presentresolves
present participleresolving
past participleresolved
pastresolved
Noun
pluralresolves

Past tense of resolve: resolved

Plural of resolve: resolves

Origin of resolve

From Middle English resolven, from Old French resolver, a learned borrowing of Latin resolvō (“loosen, thaw, melt, resolve”), equivalent to re- + solve. Piecewise doublet of re-solve.

Words formed from resolve

Words that rhyme with resolve

16 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about resolve

What does resolve mean?
Resolve means to find a solution to (a problem).
What is resolve in Hindi?
Resolve in Hindi is ठानना (ṭhānnā), संकल्प करना (saṅkalp karnā), निश्चय (niścay). See Resolve meaning in Hindi.
How do you use resolve in a sentence?
Reſolve me Reaſon, vvhich of theſe is vvorſe, / VVant vvith a full, or vvith an empty purſe: […]
What part of speech is resolve?
Resolve can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce resolve?
Resolve is pronounced /ɹɪˈzɒlv/ (UK).
What is the past tense of resolve?
The past tense of resolve is resolved.

Words near resolve in the dictionary

  1. resolvasomes
  2. resolvate
  3. resolvated
  4. resolvation
  5. resolvations
  6. resolve
  7. resolved
  8. resolvedly
  9. resolvedness
  10. resolvement
  11. resolvements

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: resolve (page history and authors); resolve (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); resolve (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); resolve (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model 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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-resolve.ogg.

Cite this entry: “resolve.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/resolve. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.