indeterminate
not determinate; not precisely fixed in extent; indefinite; uncertain.
not clear; vague.
not established.
not settled or decided.
Mathematics.
(of a quantity) undefined, as 0/0.
(of an equation) able to be satisfied by more than one value for each unknown.
Botany. (of an inflorescence) having the axis or axes not ending in a flower or bud, thus allowing further elongation.
Mathematics. something whose value is not specified: used especially in abstract algebra; a variable.
Origin of indeterminate
1Other words for indeterminate
Other words from indeterminate
- in·de·ter·mi·nate·ly, adverb
- in·de·ter·mi·nate·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use indeterminate in a sentence
This simply is not an option for ACC to source indeterminately.
Exclusive: U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says | Dave Majumdar | January 5, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe confidential clerk rubbed his high, pale forehead indeterminately.
Average Jones | Samuel Hopkins AdamsThe word man was also used indeterminately in the Old English, although it is not so used in the Modern.
A Handbook of the English Language | Robert Gordon LathamRather, the smell of the place urges me indeterminately, diffusedly, to truantry.
Journeys to Bagdad | Charles S. BrooksThe tracks turned abruptly north, winding indeterminately as if no special object had been in view.
Tropic Days | E. J. Banfield
When he touched her wing, she gasped and shivered, indeterminately between erotic and outraged.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town | Cory Doctorow
British Dictionary definitions for indeterminate
/ (ˌɪndɪˈtɜːmɪnɪt) /
uncertain in extent, amount, or nature
not definite; inconclusive: an indeterminate reply
unable to be predicted, calculated, or deduced
physics (of an effect) not obeying the law of causality; noncausal
maths
having no numerical meaning, as 0.00 or 0/0
(of an equation) having more than one variable and an unlimited number of solutions
botany another word for indefinite (def. 4)
(of a structure, framework, etc) comprising forces that cannot be fully analysed, esp by vector analysis
Derived forms of indeterminate
- indeterminacy, indetermination or indeterminateness, noun
- indeterminately, adverb
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
Scientific definitions for indeterminate
[ ĭn′dĭ-tûr′mə-nĭt ]
Continuing to grow at the apical meristem or the terminal bud indefinitely, allowing for the development of an ever-increasing number of plant organs such as leaves, stems, or flowers to the side.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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