deterministic
Americanadjective
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following or relating to the philosophical doctrine of determinism, which holds that all facts and events are determined by external causes and follow natural laws, and that there is no free will.
Rather than hewing to a deterministic model that robs the individual of agency, she believes art emerges from the interplay among individuals within a given sociocultural system.
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Statistics. of or relating to a process or model in which the output is determined solely by the input and initial conditions, thereby always returning the same results (opposed to stochastic).
The algorithms are simple and deterministic, so the results are predictable and reproducible.
In contrast, this analysis of nanoscale phenomena depends on the elements of chance rather than the deterministic classical equations of motion.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of deterministic
determin(e) + -ist + -ic
Explanation
Do you believe that nothing is random, but instead that everything happens as a result of a past condition or cause? Then you're a fan of the deterministic theory. Having a deterministic view of why we do what we do means that you don't believe in free will. A deterministic philosophy says that every action we take was already pre-determined by past events, even when it feels like we're making choices. When it comes to deterministic thinkers, there's an overlap of philosophers and physicists who believe in a theory called determinism. Turn your deterministic thinking to the future, and you'll realize it's already been determined. Mind-blowing!
Vocabulary lists containing deterministic
30 GRE Words Beginning with "D"
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Novel Study: Everything, Everything, Pages 1–121
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Our modeling is deterministic and physics‑based; it is not informed by markets, wagering systems, crowd predictions, or any other form of prediction‑market mechanism,” SeLegue said.
From Slate • Jun. 30, 2026
In the past, Pendo’s analytics products would serve up deterministic answers to customers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026
Because the company is already deeply embedded inside corporate workflows, ServiceNow is uniquely positioned to provide compliance guardrails and deterministic business rules for AI agents, Liani said.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
“A $3.6 trillion company with Apple’s resources and pedigree can have a deterministic impact on the world of robotics,” he added.
From Barron's • Oct. 16, 2025
Hence physicists and chemists can formulate universal deterministic laws at the macroscopic level, but biologists and historians can formulate only statistical trends.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
