de ‧ ter ‧ mine W2 /dɪˈtɜːmən, dɪˈtɜːmɪn $ -ɜːr-/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ determined , ↑ indeterminate , ↑ predetermined ; noun : ↑ determination , ↑ determiner ; verb : ↑ determine ; adverb : determinedly]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: determiner , from Latin terminus 'edge, limit' ]
1 . to find out the facts about something SYN establish :
Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.
determine how/what/who etc
The aim of the inquiry was to determine what had caused the accident.
determine that
Experts have determined that the signature was forged.
2 . if something determines something else, it directly influences or decides it:
The amount of available water determines the number of houses that can be built.
The age of a wine is a determining factor as to how it tastes.
determine how/whether/what etc
How hard the swimmers work now will determine how they perform in the Olympics.
3 . to officially decide something:
The date of the court case has not yet been determined.
determine how/what/who etc
The tests will help the doctors determine what treatment to use.
4 . determine to do something formal to decide to do something:
We determined to leave at once.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ decide to make a choice to do something:
We decided to send our son to a boarding school.
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I decided to go home early.
▪ make up your mind to decide something, especially after thinking about it for a long time. Make up your mind is less formal than decide and is mainly used in spoken English:
Have you made up your mind about where you’ll go on holiday?
▪ choose to do something to decide to do something – especially when this is different from what people expect or tell you to do:
She chose to ignore my advice.
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More young couples are choosing not to marry.
▪ make a decision to decide after thinking carefully about something, especially about something that is very important:
They made a decision not to have children.
▪ resolve formal to decide that you will definitely do something, especially because you think it will be better for you, or because of your past experiences:
She resolved to work hard at school.
▪ determine formal to officially decide what something shall be:
Each hospital can determine its own pay rates.
▪ come down in favour of something British English , come down in favor of something American English to decide to support a particular plan, argument etc – used especially about groups of people:
Eight of the ten committee members came down in favour of the changes.
▪ come to/reach a decision to officially decide about something important after discussing and carefully considering it - used especially about groups of people:
After two hours of discussion, the comittee had still not come to a decision on any of the proposals.