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decide
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English
Etymology
From Middle English deciden, from Old French decider, from Latin dēcīdere, infinitive of dēcīdō (“cut off, decide”), from dē (“down from”) + caedō (“cut”).
Pronunciation
Verb
decide (third-person singular simple present decides, present participle deciding, simple past and past participle decided)
- (ambitransitive) 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.
- 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
- The quarrel toucheth none but us alone; / Betwixt ourselves let us decide it then.
- 1987 December 21, Richard Nixon, Letters to Trump, Winning Team Publishing, published 2023, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 10:
- I did not see the program, but Mrs. Nixon told me that you were great on the Donahue Show.
As you can imagine, she is an expert on politics and she predicts that whenever you decide to run for office you will be a winner!
- (intransitive) 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.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 20:40:
- So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
- (transitive) To cause someone to come to a decision.
- Your admonition decided me against my intended course of action.
- 1920, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Three Gables, Norton, published 2005, page 1537:
- 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.
- (computing theory) 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.
- 1997, Michael Sipser, Introduction to the Theory of Computation, Boston, M.A.: PWS Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 313:
- First, the hierarchy theorems tell us that a Turing machine can decide more languages in EXPSPACE than it can in PSPACE.
- (obsolete) To cut off; to separate.
- 1642, Thomas Fuller, The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC:
- Our seat denies us traffic here; / The sea, too near, decides us from the rest.
Usage notes
- This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs
Conjugation
Synonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
to resolve or settle
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give judgement
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to cause someone to come to a decision
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Anagrams
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Asturian
Verb
decide
Esperanto
Etymology
Pronunciation
Adverb
decide
Galician
Verb
decide
- inflection of decidir:
Interlingua
Verb
decide
- present of decider
- imperative of decider
Italian
Pronunciation
Verb
decide
Anagrams
Latin
Verb
dēcīde
Middle English
Verb
decide
- alternative form of deciden
Portuguese
Verb
decide
- inflection of decidir:
Romanian
Etymology
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Verb
a decide (third-person singular present decide, past participle decis, third-person subjunctive decidă) 3rd conjugation
Conjugation
Related terms
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Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /deˈθide/ [d̪eˈθi.ð̞e] (Spain)
- IPA(key): /deˈside/ [d̪eˈsi.ð̞e] (Latin America, Philippines)
- Rhymes: -ide
- Syllabification: de‧ci‧de
Verb
decide
- inflection of decidir:
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