deterministic

American  

[dih-tur-muh-nis-tik] / dɪˌtɜr məˈnɪs tɪk /

adjective

1. 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.

2. 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 (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.

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Other Word Forms

• deterministically adverb
• nondeterministic adjective
• semideterministic adjective

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!

Example Sentences

“Unlike the GPU, the LPU is a deterministic, low-power processor,” wrote Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 28, 2026

Many applications require total reliability, so AI needs a deterministic software layer to help with direction and guardrails.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 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

Rather, there are deterministic relationships in which certain genes go well or badly with other particular genes, and so similar patterns of genes reoccur, resulting in repeated patterns of evolution.

From Salon • Oct. 14, 2024

These quantum theories are deterministic in the sense that they give laws for the evolution of the wave with time.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking