decide

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   To resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.)

   To resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle.

   • The election will be decided on foreign policies.
   • It was decided to meet here at midnight.
   • Her last-minute goal decided the game.
2. 2

   To make a judgment, especially after deliberation.

   • You must decide between good and evil.
   • I have decided that it is healthier to walk to work.
   • So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
3. 3

   To cause someone to come to a decision.

   • Your admonition decided me against my intended course of action.
   • It decides me to look into the matter, for if it is worth anyone's while to take so much trouble, there must be something in it.
4. ›+ 2 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      Of a Turing machine

      Of a Turing machine: to return a correct answer (for some yes-or-no problem) on every possible input.

      • No Turing Machine can decide the halting problem.
      • First, the hierarchy theorems tell us that a Turing machine can decide more languages in EXPSPACE than it can in PSPACE.
   2. 5

      To cut off

      To cut off; to separate.

      • Our seat denies us traffic here; / The sea, too near, decides us from the rest.

The neighborhood

• synonymchoose up
• synonymdecide
• synonymdetermine
• synonymfind
• synonymjudge
• synonymposken
• synonymmake a decision
• synonymmake up one's mind
• synonymtake a decision
• synonymwork out
• antonymjump to conclusions
• antonymrush to judgement
• neighbordecider
• neighbordecision
• neighbordecisive
• neighborsit in judgement
• neighboradjudicate
• neighborfall into a trap
• neighbormake a stick for one's own back
• neighborpass sentence
• neighborsign one's death warrant
• neighbortoss up