determinate

American  

[dih-tur-muh-nit, dih-tur-muh-neyt] / dɪˈtɜr mə nɪt, dɪˈtɜr məˌneɪt /

adjective

1. having defined limits; definite.

2. settled; positive.

3. conclusive; final.

4. resolute.

5. Botany. (of an inflorescence) having the primary and each secondary axis ending in a flower or bud, thus preventing further elongation.

6. Engineering.

   1. (of a structure) able to be analyzed completely by means of the principles of statics.

   2. (of a member of a structure) subject only to definite, known stresses.

   3. (of a stress) able to be determined through the principles of statics.

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verb (used with object)

determinated, determinating

1. to make certain of.

2. to identify.

determinate British  

/ dɪˈtɜːmɪnɪt /

adjective

1. definitely limited, defined, or fixed; distinct

2. a less common word for determined

3. 1. able to be predicted or deduced

   2. (of an effect) obeying the law of causality

4. botany (of an inflorescence) having the main and branch stems ending in flowers and unable to grow further; cymose

5. (of a structure, stress, etc) able to be fully analysed or determined

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determinate Scientific  

/ dĭ-tûr′mə-nĭt /

1. Precisely determined, limited, or defined.

2. Not continuing to grow at an apical meristem. In the cyme, a determinate inflorescence, for example, the first floret develops at the end of the meristem, and no further elongation of the inflorescence can occur.

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Other Word Forms

• determinately adverb
• determinateness noun

Etymology

Origin of determinate

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin dēterminātus, past participle of dētermināre. See determine, -ate ¹

Explanation

Do you have a determinate personal budget? Welcome to the club. So do most people, unless you happen to be Warren Buffet or Bill Gates. Anything determinate has a fixed limit to it. Slightly differently, determinate can also refer to something that has a clearly visible limit of form. For example, although no two snowflakes are ever exactly alike, they all share a certain "determinate form," that is they all have six arms.

Example Sentences

The French Revolution then dynamited Europe’s old order and dynamized society as a collective organism, evolving in a “quasi-biological and determinate way.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

We are every single day in this country releasing people through determinate sentencing.

From BBC • Oct. 7, 2024

Determinate tomatoes: McKeever makes the case for determinate tomatoes, which are tomatoes that stay bushy instead of vining out and have a more set production, as these have more compact root systems.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 25, 2023

Examples of determinate tomato varieties include Roma, San Marzano, Rutgers and Celebrity.

From Salon • Jul. 27, 2022

Substantial Forms, Occult Qualities, Intentional Species, Idiosyncrasies, Sympathies and Antipathies of Things, are exploded...because they are only empty Sounds, Words whereof no Man can form a certain and determinate Idea.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton