decide

See also: décide and décidé

English

Etymology

From Middle English deciden, from Old French decider, from Latin dēcīdere, infintive of dēcīdō (“cut off, decide”), from dē (“down from”) + caedō (“cut”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dɪˈsaɪd/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Verb

decide (third-person singular simple present decides, present participle deciding, simple past and past participle decided)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) To resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle.
    The election will be decided on foreign policies.
    We must decide our next move.
    Her last-minute goal decided the game.
    • Shakespeare
      The quarrel toucheth none but us alone; / Betwixt ourselves let us decide it then.
  2. (intransitive) To make a judgment, especially after deliberation.
    You must decide between good and evil.
    I have decided that it is healthier to walk to work.
    • Bible, 1 Kings xx. 40
      So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
  3. (transitive) To cause someone to come to a decision.
    • 1920, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Adventure of the Three Gables" (Norton edition, 2005, page 1537),
      It decides me to look into the matter, for if it is worth anyone's while to take so much trouble, there must be something in it.
  4. (obsolete) To cut off; to separate.
    • Fuller
      Our seat denies us traffic here; / The sea, too near, decides us from the rest.

Usage notes

  • This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Anagrams

Asturian

Verb

decide

  1. third-person singular present indicative of decidir

Esperanto

Etymology

decidi +‎ -e

Adverb

decide

  1. decisively
  2. decidedly

Interlingua

Verb

decide

  1. present of decider
  2. imperative of decider

Italian

Verb

decide

  1. Third-person singular present indicative of decidere

Anagrams

Latin

Verb

dēcīde

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of dēcīdō

Portuguese

Verb

decide

  1. third-person singular present indicative of decidir
  2. second-person singular imperative of decidir

Romanian

Etymology

From French décider < Latin decido.

Verb

a decide (third-person singular present decide, past participle decis) 3rd conj.

  1. to decide

Conjugation

Synonyms

Spanish

Verb

decide

  1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of decidir.
  2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of decidir.
  3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present indicative form of decidir.
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