determinant

[dih-tur-muh-nuh nt]

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.

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. 2018

Related Words for determinant

unambiguous, precise, undeniable, convincing, indisputable, compelling, unmistakable, decisive, irrefutable, irrevocable, motivation, stimulus, impetus, encouragement, reason, enticement, emotion, impulse, influence, idea

Examples from the Web for determinant

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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

Historical Examples of determinant

We have already indicated that soil is a determinant in the choice of varieties.
Apple Growing
M. C. Burritt
For it is not a principle of the determinant but merely of the reflective Judgement.
Kant's Critique of Judgement
Immanuel Kant
It belongs therefore to the reflective and not to the determinant judgement.
Kant's Critique of Judgement
Immanuel Kant
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

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

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

determinant in Medicine

determinant

[dĭ-tûr′mə-nənt]

An influencing or determining element or factor.
Antigenic determinant.

adj.

Tending or serving to determine.