resolution
Americannoun
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a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usually after voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club, or other group.
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the act of resolving or determining upon an action, course of action, method, procedure, etc.
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a resolve; a decision or determination.
to make a firm resolution to do something.
Her resolution to clear her parents' name allowed her no other focus in life.
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the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.
She showed her resolution by not attending the meeting.
- Synonyms:
- fortitude, strength, tenacity, perseverance, determination, resolve
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the act or process of resolving or separating something into constituent or elementary parts.
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the resulting state.
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Optics. the act, process, or capability of distinguishing between two separate but adjacent objects or sources of light or between two nearly equal wavelengths.
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a solution, accommodation, or settling of a problem, controversy, etc.
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Music.
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the progression of a voice part or of the harmony as a whole from a dissonance to a consonance.
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the tone or chord to which a dissonance is resolved.
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reduction to a simpler form; conversion.
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Medicine/Medical. the reduction or disappearance of a swelling or inflammation without suppuration.
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the degree of sharpness of a computer-generated image as measured by the number of dots per linear inch in a hard-copy printout or the number of pixels across and down on a display screen.
noun
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the act or an instance of resolving
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the condition or quality of being resolute; firmness or determination
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something resolved or determined; decision
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a formal expression of opinion by a meeting, esp one agreed by a vote
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a judicial decision on some matter; verdict; judgment
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the act or process of separating something into its constituent parts or elements
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med
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return from a pathological to a normal condition
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subsidence of the symptoms of a disease, esp the disappearance of inflammation without the formation of pus
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music the process in harmony whereby a dissonant note or chord is followed by a consonant one
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the ability of a television or film image to reproduce fine detail
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physics another word for resolving power
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of resolution
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin resolūtiōn-, stem of resolūtiō “looseness, a release” equivalent to resolute + -ion
Explanation
The noun resolution has a few related meanings having to do with being firmly determined about something. If you lack determination, you'll never fulfill your New Year's resolutions. Resolution is the noun form of the verb resolve, derived from the Latin resolvere, "to loosen, undo, settle." We can still see this meaning of resolution in the sense of "an explanation" or "a solution" — when a problem, conflict, or mystery reaches its resolution, it has been "undone," so to speak. If you approach a task with resolution, you do it with determination. And if you make a resolution, you make a firm decision to do something or meet some goal.
Vocabulary lists containing resolution
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 4
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Words for a New Year
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"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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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.
An appeal should be held within 14 days, but the EFL is expected to ask for a resolution by Friday.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
The decision exceeded climate advocates' expectations, and Vanuatu in January proposed a new draft resolution to implement the ICJ ruling, which is non-binding but can be drawn on by courts around the world.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
The government settled that case, apologizing to Griffin without a resolution of that legal question.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
Using cutting edge super resolution microscopy, they mapped the glycocalyx at the level of individual sugar molecules across many different types of cells.
From Science Daily • May 18, 2026
Ms. Washington gave me a minute to soften up and give in, because she didn’t know about my heart and its resolution, and that she was dealing with a mighty and unbending will.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
