DETERMINE Synonyms: 173 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the verb 'determine' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of determine are decide , resolve , rule , and settle . While all these words mean "to come or cause to come to a conclusion," determine implies fixing the identity, character, scope, or direction of something. // determined the cause of the problem

Q: When is it sensible to use 'decide' instead of 'determine'?

The words decide and determine are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, decide implies previous consideration of a matter causing doubt, wavering, debate, or controversy. // she decided to sell her house

Q: When might 'resolve' be a better fit than 'determine'?

The synonyms resolve and determine are sometimes interchangeable, but resolve implies an expressed or clear decision or determination to do or refrain from doing something. // he resolved to quit smoking

Q: When would 'rule' be a good substitute for 'determine'?

The meanings of rule and determine largely overlap; however, rule implies a determination by judicial or administrative authority. // the judge ruled that the evidence was inadmissible

Q: When can 'settle' be used instead of 'determine'?

Although the words settle and determine have much in common, settle implies a decision reached by someone with power to end all dispute or uncertainty. // the dean's decision settled the campus alcohol policy

determine

verb

di-ˈtər-mən

Definition of determine

as in to decide

to give an opinion about (something at issue or in dispute) a three-member panel will determine the case

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to choose

to come to a judgment about after discussion or consideration trying to determine which direction we were facing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to find

to come upon after searching, study, or effort we failed to determine the answer to the riddle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to conclude

to come to an end your participation in the savings plan determines with the termination of your employment here

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to settle

to make final, definite, or beyond dispute your choice of college could determine the rest of your life

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb determine differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of determine are decide, resolve, rule, and settle. While all these words mean "to come or cause to come to a conclusion," determine implies fixing the identity, character, scope, or direction of something.

determined the cause of the problem

When is it sensible to use decide instead of determine?

The words decide and determine are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, decide implies previous consideration of a matter causing doubt, wavering, debate, or controversy.

she decided to sell her house

When might resolve be a better fit than determine?

The synonyms resolve and determine are sometimes interchangeable, but resolve implies an expressed or clear decision or determination to do or refrain from doing something.

he resolved to quit smoking

When would rule be a good substitute for determine?

The meanings of rule and determine largely overlap; however, rule implies a determination by judicial or administrative authority.

the judge ruled that the evidence was inadmissible

When can settle be used instead of determine?

Although the words settle and determine have much in common, settle implies a decision reached by someone with power to end all dispute or uncertainty.

the dean's decision settled the campus alcohol policy

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of determine Mosser has not come to the negotiating table just yet, but Richardson says his office is determined to fix a wrong. — CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026 The paper makes significant progress on an unresolved aspect of the inscrutable math equation that determines how the primes are distributed along the number line. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2026 As previously mentioned, many high-dollar claims require clinical review prior to determining if a claim should be paid. — Bruce Roffe, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026 Whether antisemitism played any role in his murder is for NYPD to determine. — Simcha Itzkowitz, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for determine

Recent Examples of Synonyms for determine

Verb

His company depended on a third-party tool to connect its data infrastructure, and the deciding problem turned out not to be the price.

— Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
Just a few hours after dropping pics of herself with voluminous, body-licious curls, Khloé Kardashian decided to kick off August with a fresh hair cut—and introduced us all to her alter ego, Bob Kardashian, in the process.

— Kara Nesvig, Allure, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of decide

Verb

Six players choose Izzy as the impostor, and not for the last time in this episode.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
Eaton advises checking local facilities for specific costs and remembering that those costs do not include in-vitro fertilization treatment if the patient later chooses to use the eggs.

— Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of choose

Verb

Officers at the scene found a man who had been hit by a fleeing vehicle.

— Nicholas Lentz, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
Sometimes poison ivy will creep into beds from nearby woodlands, but these plants can also find their way into flower beds via seeds dropped by birds.

— Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of find

Verb

Schrell examined whether annual production campaigns would be more effective, but concluded that the approach would not make economic or operational sense because of costs, limited hot-cell capacity and the isotope’s relatively short half-life.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2026
Southern California Edison Investigators conclude that sparks from a tower owned by California’s second largest utility caused the 2025 Eaton Fire in Altadena that killed 19 people and destroyed 9,400 homes and businesses.

— Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of conclude

Verb

Homeschool enrichment programs allow homeschooled students to participate in public school activities and learning part-time.

— Olivia Young, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
In May, Sydney learned her cancer had spread and was present in her peritoneum, which is the lining of the abdomen and pelvis, per the Cleveland Clinic.

— Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of learn

Verb

The aid workers who once regularly visited her village to help pregnant women had stopped coming, after foreign aid cuts by the United States shuttered a program aimed at saving mothers’ and babies’ lives.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
The exposure obviously scares him, but not enough to stop him from filming his next scene, where he’s been tasked with breaking in newcomer Cami Soul.

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of stop

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“Determine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/determine. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of determine

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