adj, noun ·5 syllables ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts.
2. 2
   a determining or causal element or factor wordnet
3. 3
   A member of a class of words functioning in a noun phrase to identify or distinguish a referent without describing or modifying it.
4. 4
   one of a limited class of noun modifiers that determine the referents of noun phrases wordnet

Adjective

1. 1
   That determines something.
2. 2
   Sufficient to decide something (such as a question of fact or of law).

   "When assigning custody, the preference of the child will be considered, but it is not determinative."

Adjective

1. 1
   having the power or quality of deciding wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

determinerdecisivedeterminantdeterminerabsoluteadducible

Example

More examples

"When assigning custody, the preference of the child will be considered, but it is not determinative."

Etymology

From Middle French déterminatif.

Related phrases

phonetic determinativecardinal numbernoun phrase

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.