determiner

plural determiners

1. Someone or something that determines, or helps to determine, something else.
   1. A factor that defines something, or one among several that define it.

      Near-synonym: definer

      2 more examples

      In quality management, the determiners of quality sometimes differ across use cases.

      The "steel-yards" and "measures" were the only determiners of weight and quantity — as the hour-glass and sun dial were of time — possessed at first (so far as appears) by the passengers of the Pilgrim ship […]

      1901, Azel Ames, The Mayflower and Her Log

      Synonyms: definer

   2. Someone or something (especially a sentient agent) that determines; a decider of a disposition.

      Who is the determiner? [administratively or theologically]

      3 more examples

      Near-synonyms: decider, decisor, disposer, definer, arbiter, arbitrator, decisionmaker

      He is the determiner [usually referring to God (in theological contexts) and job roles (in administrative contexts)]

      The software is the determiner if no input is given before the prompt times out.

      Synonyms: decider, decisor, disposer, definer, arbiter, arbitrator, decisionmaker

2. grammarA member of a class of words functioning in a noun phrase to identify or distinguish a referent without describing or modifying it.

   Near-synonym: determinative (broadly synonymous)

   1 more example

   Definite articles, indefinite articles, and cardinal numbers acting as quantifiers are types of determiners.

   Synonyms: determinative[Appendix:Glossary

3. grammarA dependent function in a noun phrase that marks it as definite or indefinite. This function is usually filled by words in the determinative class but may be filled by other elements such as a genitive pronoun.

   Near-synonym: determinative (broadly synonymous)

   1 more example

   In the sentence "Many people voted for him," the word many is a determiner.

   Synonyms: determinative[Appendix:Glossary