Meanings
present singular third person decides · participle present deciding · participle past decided · past decided · first person past singular decided · archaic present second person singular decidest · past second person singular decided · archaic past second person singular decidedst · present singular third person decides · archaic present singular third person decideth · past singular third person decided · past plural decided · past subjunctive decided · participle present deciding · participle past decided
- ambitransitiveTo resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle.
Her last-minute goal decided the game.
4 more examples
The election will be decided on foreign policies.
It was decided to meet here at midnight.
The quarrel toucheth none but us alone; / Betwixt ourselves let us decide it then.
1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]I did not see the program, but Mrs. Nixon told me that you were great on the Donahue Show. As you can imagine, she is an expert on politics and she predicts that whenever you decide to run for office you will be a winner!
1987 December 21, Richard Nixon, Letters to Trump, Winning Team Publishing, published 2023, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 10Synonyms: choose, determine, pick, elect, accept, adopt, appoint, cast
- intransitiveTo make a judgment, especially after deliberation.
You must decide between good and evil.
3 more examples
I have decided that it is healthier to walk to work.
So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 20:40Since this cowl released a flutter of moths and parted at the shoulder as he was getting into it, he decided that it must be his own.
1954, Hubert Van Zeller, Downside By and Large, page 277Synonyms: judge, make up one's mind
- transitiveTo cause someone to come to a decision.
Your admonition decided me against my intended course of action.
1 more example
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.
1920, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Three Gables, Norton, published 2005, page 1537 - computingOf a Turing machine: to return a correct answer (for some yes-or-no problem) on every possible input.
No Turing Machine can decide the halting problem.
1 more example
First, the hierarchy theorems tell us that a Turing machine can decide more languages in EXPSPACE than it can in PSPACE.
1997, Michael Sipser, Introduction to the Theory of Computation, Boston, M.A.: PWS Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 313 - obsoleteTo cut off; to separate.
Our seat denies us traffic here; / The sea, too near, decides us from the rest.
1642, Thomas Fuller, The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLCSynonyms: divorce, sever, sunder, becut, discerp, disintegrate, dispart, dissever
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle.
verbTo make a judgment, especially after deliberation.
verbTo cut off; to separate.
More synonyms by meaning
verbreach, make, or come to a decision about something
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latindēcīdere
- Old Frenchdecider
- Middle Englishdeciden
- Englishdecide
From Middle English deciden, from Old French decider, from Latin dēcīdere, infinitive of dēcīdō (“cut off, decide”), from dē (“down from”) + caedō (“cut”).
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans besluit
- besluitto resolve or settle
Ancient Greek διακρίνω, βούλομαι
- διακρίνω (diakrínō)to resolve or settle
- βούλομαι (boúlomai)give judgement
Arabic قَرَّرَ, صَمَّمَ
- قَرَّرَ (qarrara)to resolve or settle
- صَمَّمَ (ṣammama)to resolve or settle
- قَرَّرَ (qarrara)give judgement
Bengali স্থির করা
- স্থির করা (sthir kora)to resolve or settle
Bulgarian реша́вам, реша́
- реша́вам (rešávam)to resolve or settle
- реша́ (rešá)to resolve or settle
- разреша́вам (razrešávam)to resolve or settle
- реша́вам (rešávam)give judgement
- разреша́вам (razrešávam)give judgement
Catalan decidir, decidir
- decidirto resolve or settle
- decidirgive judgement
Chinese Cantonese 解決 /解决, 決定 /决定
- 解決 /解决 (gaai² kyut³)to resolve or settle
- 決定 /决定 (kyut³ ding⁶)give judgement
Chinese Mandarin 解決 /解决, 決定 /决定
- 解決 /解决 (jiějué)to resolve or settle
- 決定 /决定 (juédìng)give judgement
Czech rozhodovat, rozhodnout
- rozhodovatto resolve or settle
- rozhodnoutto resolve or settle
- rozhodnoutgive judgement
- rozhodnout segive judgement
Danish afgøre, beslutte
- afgøreto resolve or settle
- beslutteto resolve or settle
- afgøregive judgement
- få en person til at beslutte sigto cause someone to come to a decision
Dutch beslissen, besluiten
- beslissento resolve or settle
- besluitento resolve or settle
Esperanto decidi
- decidito resolve or settle
Estonian otsustama
- otsustamato resolve or settle
Finnish ratkaista, päättää
- ratkaistato resolve or settle
- päättäägive judgement
- ratkaistagive judgement
- valitagive judgement
- ratkaistato cause someone to come to a decision
French décider, décider
- déciderto resolve or settle
- décidergive judgement
German entscheiden, beschließen
- entscheidento resolve or settle
- beschließento resolve or settle
- entschließento resolve or settle
- entscheidengive judgement
- beschließengive judgement
- festsetzengive judgement
Greek αποφασίζω, κρίνω
- αποφασίζω (apofasízo)to resolve or settle
- κρίνω (kríno)to resolve or settle
- αποφασίζω (apofasízo)give judgement
Hawaiian hoʻoholo
- hoʻoholoto resolve or settle
Hebrew החליט, הכריע
- החליט (hekhlít)to resolve or settle
- הכריע (hikhría)to resolve or settle
- הכריע (hikhría)give judgement
Hindi निर्णय करना, फ़ैसला करना
- निर्णय करना (nirṇay karnā)to resolve or settle
- फ़ैसला करना (faislā karnā)to resolve or settle
Hungarian dönt, eldönt
- döntto resolve or settle
- eldöntto resolve or settle
- elhatározto resolve or settle
- döntgive judgement
- döntést hozgive judgement
Icelandic ákveða
- ákveðato resolve or settle
Irish cinn
- cinnto resolve or settle
Italian decidere, stabilire
- decidereto resolve or settle
- stabilireto resolve or settle
- decretaregive judgement
- deliberaregive judgement
- pronunciarsigive judgement
- convincereto cause someone to come to a decision
Japanese 解決する, 決める
- 解決する (kaiketsu suru)to resolve or settle
- 決める (kimeru)to resolve or settle
- 決める (kimeru)give judgement
- 決する (kessuru)give judgement
- 決定する (kettei suru)give judgement
Korean 해결하다, 정하다
- 해결하다 (haegyeolhada)to resolve or settle
- 정하다 (jeonghada)to resolve or settle
- 결정하다 (gyeoljeonghada)give judgement
- 정하다 (jeonghada)give judgement
Latin decido, statuo
- decidoto resolve or settle
- statuoto resolve or settle
- decidogive judgement
- statuoto cause someone to come to a decision
- decernoto cause someone to come to a decision
- constituoto cause someone to come to a decision
- edicoto cause someone to come to a decision
- sancioto cause someone to come to a decision
Latvian lemt, lemt
- lemtto resolve or settle
- lemtgive judgement
Lithuanian nuspręsti
- nuspręstito resolve or settle
Malay putus
- putusto resolve or settle
Norwegian Bokmål beslutte
- beslutteto resolve or settle
Persian تصمیم گرفتن, تصمیم گرفتن
- تصمیم گرفتن (tasmim gereftan)to resolve or settle
- تصمیم گرفتن (tasmim gereftan)give judgement
Polish decydować, zdecydować
- decydowaćto resolve or settle
- zdecydowaćto resolve or settle
- postanowićto resolve or settle
- zdecydowaćgive judgement
Portuguese decidir, decidir
- decidirto resolve or settle
- decidirgive judgement
Romanian decide, decide
- decideto resolve or settle
- decidegive judgement
- convingeto cause someone to come to a decision
Russian реша́ть, реши́ть
- реша́ть (rešátʹ)to resolve or settle
- реши́ть (rešítʹ)to resolve or settle
- реша́ть (rešátʹ)give judgement
- реши́ть (rešítʹ)give judgement
Scottish Gaelic cuir ro, suidhich air
- cuir roto resolve or settle
- suidhich airgive judgement
Slovak rozhodovať, rozhodnúť
- rozhodovaťto resolve or settle
- rozhodnúťto resolve or settle
Spanish decidir, resolver
- decidirto resolve or settle
- resolverto resolve or settle
- decidirgive judgement
Swedish besluta, bestämma
- beslutato resolve or settle
- bestämmato resolve or settle
- avgöragive judgement
Thai ตัดสินใจ, ตัดสิน
- ตัดสินใจ (dtàt sĭn jai)to resolve or settle
- ตัดสิน (dtàt sĭn)to resolve or settle
Turkish karar vermek, karar vermek
- karar vermekto resolve or settle
- karar vermekgive judgement
Ukrainian вирі́шувати, ви́рішити
- вирі́шувати (vyríšuvaty)to resolve or settle
- ви́рішити (výrišyty)to resolve or settle
- вирі́шувати (vyríšuvaty)give judgement
- ви́рішити (výrišyty)give judgement
Urdu فیصلہ کرنا
- فیصلہ کرنا (faislā karnā)to resolve or settle
Vietnamese quyết định
- quyết địnhto resolve or settle
Yiddish באַשליסן, באַשליסן
- באַשליסן (bashlisn)to resolve or settle
- באַשליסן (bashlisn)give judgement
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with decide
Cite this entry
decide. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decide
“decide.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decide. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “decide,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decide.
Source: decide on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.