defining

American  

[dih-fahy-ning] / dɪˈfaɪ nɪŋ /

adjective

1. decisive; critically important.

   Taking a course in architecture was a defining turn in her life.

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Other Word Forms

• nondefining adjective
• self-defining adjective

Example Sentences

The 10-hour workday struggle became the defining labor cause of the early republic.

From The Wall Street Journal

The women volunteers of the civil disobedience movement are getting a belated acknowledgement of their defining role in one of India's biggest mass movements.

From BBC

The voting public has the power to make AI ethics a defining issue that shapes norms of behavior around technology.

From Salon

This does not, of course, foreclose another question: Does the book add anything of additional value—defining the term, loosely, to include perspective and narrative fluency?

From The Wall Street Journal

It was from here that he launched the 1930 Salt March, a defining moment in the struggle against British rule.

From Barron's