definitive description

noun

A phrase that designates an object by providing a description that is satisfied by exactly one object.

Opposite
indefinite descriptionambiguous description
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Meanings

noundefinitive description (plural definitive descriptions)

plural definitive descriptions

  1. human sciencesA phrase that designates an object by providing a description that is satisfied by exactly one object.

    A definitive description is a phrase of the form 'the so-and-so' which denotes a particular object in virtue of the fact that there is exactly one object satisfying the description.

    1905, Bertrand Russell, On Denoting, volume 14, page 481

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
indefinite descriptionambiguous description
Cite this entry
APA

definitive description. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/definitive%20description

MLA

“definitive description.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/definitive%20description. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “definitive description,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/definitive%20description.

Source: definitive description on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.