resolution

American  

[rez-uh-loo-shuhn] / ˌrɛz əˈlu ʃən /

noun

1. a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usually after voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club, or other group.

2. the act of resolving or determining upon an action, course of action, method, procedure, etc.

3. a resolve; a decision or determination.

   to make a firm resolution to do something.

   Her resolution to clear her parents' name allowed her no other focus in life.

4. the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.

   She showed her resolution by not attending the meeting.

   Synonyms:

   fortitude, strength, tenacity, perseverance, determination, resolve

5. the act or process of resolving or separating something into constituent or elementary parts.

6. the resulting state.

7. Optics. the act, process, or capability of distinguishing between two separate but adjacent objects or sources of light or between two nearly equal wavelengths.

8. a solution, accommodation, or settling of a problem, controversy, etc.

9. Music.

   1. the progression of a voice part or of the harmony as a whole from a dissonance to a consonance.

   2. the tone or chord to which a dissonance is resolved.

10. reduction to a simpler form; conversion.

11. Medicine/Medical. the reduction or disappearance of a swelling or inflammation without suppuration.

12. the degree of sharpness of a computer-generated image as measured by the number of dots per linear inch in a hard-copy printout or the number of pixels across and down on a display screen.

---

resolution British  

/ ˌrɛzəˈluːʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of resolving

2. the condition or quality of being resolute; firmness or determination

3. something resolved or determined; decision

4. a formal expression of opinion by a meeting, esp one agreed by a vote

5. a judicial decision on some matter; verdict; judgment

6. the act or process of separating something into its constituent parts or elements

7. med

   1. return from a pathological to a normal condition

   2. subsidence of the symptoms of a disease, esp the disappearance of inflammation without the formation of pus

8. music the process in harmony whereby a dissonant note or chord is followed by a consonant one

9. the ability of a television or film image to reproduce fine detail

10. physics another word for resolving power

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• resolutioner
  noun
• nonresolution
  noun
• preresolution
  noun

Etymology

Origin of resolution

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin resolūtiōn-, stem of resolūtiō “looseness, a release” equivalent to resolute + -ion

Explanation

The noun resolution has a few related meanings having to do with being firmly determined about something. If you lack determination, you'll never fulfill your New Year's resolutions. Resolution is the noun form of the verb resolve, derived from the Latin resolvere, "to loosen, undo, settle." We can still see this meaning of resolution in the sense of "an explanation" or "a solution" — when a problem, conflict, or mystery reaches its resolution, it has been "undone," so to speak. If you approach a task with resolution, you do it with determination. And if you make a resolution, you make a firm decision to do something or meet some goal.

Example Sentences

The observations were carried out using MIRI's Medium Resolution Spectrometer, an instrument that separates infrared light into its individual wavelengths.

From Science Daily • Jun. 4, 2026

The relevant piece of US law, the decades-old War Powers Resolution, makes certain requirements of a president "within sixty calendar days" of their use of US armed forces within a combat.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

"For War Powers Resolution purposes, the hostilities that began on Saturday, February 28 have terminated," a senior administration official told AFP late on Thursday.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

Third, the War Powers Resolution, which Congress devised in response to the Vietnam War to restrict presidential discretion, has proved ineffective.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

Less than a month later, the US House of Representatives approved House Resolution 421 to honor the Mercury 13 for their service.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Related Words

• conclusion
• decision
• finding
• motion
• outcome
• proposal
• proposition
• recommendation
• settlement
• solution
• verdict