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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

• nonresolution noun
• preresolution noun
• resolutioner 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

Vera ordered the government not to deport Romero León pending the resolution of his legal action.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

Security Council resolution backed by the U.A.E. that would have authorized the use of force to reopen the strait.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

Existing imaging techniques often force researchers to choose between high resolution, a large field of view, or preserving the cell's natural structure.

From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2026

Before his death in a Danish hospice, he told me, with his typical understatement, that it was "a bit annoying" he wouldn't live to see the resolution of the case.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

Privately, Johnson joked the resolution was “like grandma’s nightshirt—it covered everything.”

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

Related Words

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