Wiktionary

decide

See also: décide and décidé

English

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /dɪˈsaɪd/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪd

Verb

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

  1. (ambitransitive) 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.
    • 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]:
      The quarrel toucheth none but us alone; / Betwixt ourselves let us decide it then.
    • 1987 December 21, Richard Nixon, Letters to Trump, Winning Team Publishing, published 2023, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 10:
      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!
  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.
  3. (transitive) to cause someone to come to a decision
    • 1920, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Three Gables, Norton, published 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. (computing theory) Of 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.
    • 1997, Michael Sipser, Introduction to the Theory of Computation, Boston, M.A.: PWS Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 313:
      First, the hierarchy theorems tell us that a Turing machine can decide more languages in EXPSPACE than it can in PSPACE.
  5. (obsolete) To cut off; to separate.
    • 1642, Thomas Fuller, The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC:
      Our seat denies us traffic here; / The sea, too near, decides us from the rest.

Usage notes

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Anagrams

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Asturian

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Verb

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decide

  1. third-person singular present indicative of decidir

Esperanto

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Etymology

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From decidi +‎ -e.

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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decide

  1. decisively
  2. decidedly

Galician

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Verb

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decide

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

Interlingua

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Verb

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decide

  1. present of decider
  2. imperative of decider

Italian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /deˈt͡ʃi.de/
  • Rhymes: -ide
  • Hyphenation: de‧cì‧de

Verb

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decide

  1. third-person singular present indicative of decidere

Anagrams

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Latin

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Verb

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dēcīde

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of dēcīdō

Middle English

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Verb

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decide

  1. Alternative form of deciden

Portuguese

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Verb

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decide

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

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French décider, from Latin dēcidō.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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

  1. to decide
    Synonym: hotărî

Conjugation

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    conjugation of decide (third conjugation, past participle in -s)
infinitive a decide
gerund decizând
past participle decis
number singular plural
person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
indicative eu tu el/ea noi voi ei/ele
present decid decizi decide decidem decideți decid
imperfect decideam decideai decidea decideam decideați decideau
simple perfect decisei deciseși decise deciserăm deciserăți deciseră
pluperfect decisesem deciseseși decisese deciseserăm deciseserăți deciseseră
subjunctive eu tu el/ea noi voi ei/ele
present să decid să decizi să decidă să decidem să decideți să decidă
imperative — tu — — voi —
affirmative decide decideți
negative nu decide nu decideți
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Spanish

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): (Spain) /deˈθide/ [d̪eˈθi.ð̞e]
  • IPA(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /deˈside/ [d̪eˈsi.ð̞e]
  • Rhymes: -ide
  • Syllabification: de‧ci‧de

Verb

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decide

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