Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

well-defined

American  
[wel-di-fahynd] / ˈwɛl dɪˈfaɪnd /

adjective

  1. sharply or clearly stated, outlined, described, etc..

    a well-defined character; a well-defined boundary.
well-defined British  

adjective

  1. clearly delineated, described, or determined

"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

Etymology

Origin of well-defined

First recorded in 1695–1705

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.

"If you look at how drugs have evolved over the last few decades, we have gone from well-defined small molecules to more complex but less structured medicines," Mirkin said.

From Science Daily • Feb. 18, 2026

If Europe’s economic problem is well-defined, the political fix hasn’t been.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

Fortunately Washington recognizes that America’s prosperity depends on enabling technological innovation under fair, well-defined rules.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026

Bears worry Apple is falling behind its “Magnificent Seven” peers without a well-defined roadmap to compete.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 9, 2026

This would have led to well-defined thermodynamic and cosmological arrows of time, as we observe.

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

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.