determinant

[ dih-tur-muh-nuh nt ]

/ dɪˈtɜr mə nənt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR determinant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a determining agent or factor.

Mathematics. an algebraic expression of the sum of products of elements, each with an appropriate algebraic sign, usually written in a square array and used in the solution of systems of linear equations.

Also called antigenic determinant, epitope. Immunology. any site on an antigen molecule at which an antibody can bind, the chemical structure of the site determining the specific combining antibody.

Genetics Archaic. a gene.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of determinant

1600–10; < Latin dēterminant- (stem of dētermināns), present participle of dētermināre. See determine, -ant

Related formsnon·de·ter·mi·nant, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for determinant

Political pressure, economic resources and the ability to navigate into a Kafkaesque bureaucracy play a determinant role.
In Italy, Religious Minorities Struggle (Vainly) for Official Recognition|Anna Momigliano|November 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
On 11 August 1947, he told the soon-to-be born nation that religion was not the determinant of Pakistani nationalism.
Why Pakistan's Mohammed Ali Jinnah Was No Nelson Mandela|Kapil Komireddi|April 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
All seem to agree that Goldstone was a determinant of Israel's relatively restrained attack against Hamas this time around.
On Gaza, Goldstone And Israeli Strategy Regarding Terrorist Enclaves|Yossi Alpher|December 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
This stimulus is the primary phenomenon, the determinant cause of such transformation.
The Mechanism of Life|Stphane Leduc

This "law of sufficient (or determinant) reason" 568 is the fundamental principle of all metaphysical inquiry.
Christianity and Greek Philosophy|Benjamin Franklin Cocker
When this extrinsic end is in keeping with right reason or when it is discordant thereto, it may become a determinant of morality.
The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation|Austin O'Malley
Decomposition of a Determinant into complementary Determinants.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 3|Various
If that proportion is altered, so also is the character of the determinant.
On Germinal Selection as a Source of Definite Variation|August Weismann

British Dictionary definitions for determinant

determinant

/ (dɪˈtɜːmɪnənt) /

adjective

serving to determine or affect

noun

a factor, circumstance, etc, that influences or determines

maths a square array of elements that represents the sum of certain products of these elements, used to solve simultaneous equations, in vector studies, etcCompare matrix (def. 9)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for determinant

determinant

c.1600 (adj.); 1680s (n.), from Latin determinantem (nominative determinans), present participle of determinare (see determine).

Medicine definitions for determinant

determinant

[ dĭ-tûr′mə-nənt ]

n.

An influencing or determining element or factor.

Antigenic determinant.

adj.

Tending or serving to determine.