defining

[dih-fahy-ning]

adjective

1. decisive; critically important.

   Taking a course in architecture was a defining turn in her life.

Other Word Forms

• nondefining adjective
• self-defining adjective

Example Sentences

Keaton’s sorrow and desperation in this dark, gritty movie is palpable, making this a defining and heartbreaking part of her ouvré.

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Legal experts called the texting of the stock trades a potential violation of ethics statutes defining blind trusts as blind only if the trust is managed without consultation.

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This year, the government defined China as a “sophisticated and persistent challenge” in its strategic defense review, short of defining it a national security challenge.

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Five out of the seven candidates running to lead the IOC have said they favor stricter rules for defining female athletes.

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The compact also seeks a commitment “to defining and otherwise interpreting ‘male,’ ‘female,’ ‘woman,’ and ‘man’ according to reproductive function and biological processes.”

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