decide

See also: décide and décidé

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Verb

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.
    Synonyms: choose, determine, pick, elect; see also Thesaurus:choose
    The election will be decided on foreign policies.
    It was decided to meet here at midnight.
    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.
    Synonyms: judge, make up one's mind; see also Thesaurus:decide
    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.
    Your admonition decided me against my intended course of action.
    • 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.
    Synonyms: divorce, sever, sunder; see also Thesaurus:divide
    • 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

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

Conjugation

Conjugation of decide
infinitive (to) decide
present tense past tense
1st-person singular decide decided
2nd-person singular decide, decidest† decided, decidedst†
3rd-person singular decides, decideth† decided
plural decide
subjunctive decide decided
imperative decide —
participles deciding decided

† Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms

Translations

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

Asturian

Verb

decide

  1. third-person singular present indicative of decidir

Esperanto

Etymology

Etymology tree
Esperanto decidi
Proto-Italic *-ēd
Old Latin -ēd
Latin -ebor.
Russian -е (-e)influ.
▲
Polish -einflu.
Czech -einflu.
Esperanto -e
Esperanto decide

    From decidi + -e.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /deˈt͡side/
    • Rhymes: -ide
    • Syllabification: de‧ci‧de

    Adverb

    decide

    1. decisively
    2. decidedly

    Galician

    Verb

    decide

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

    Interlingua

    Verb

    decide

    1. present of decider
    2. imperative of decider

    Italian

    Pronunciation

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

    Verb

    decide

    1. third-person singular present indicative of decidere

    Anagrams

    Latin

    Verb

    dēcīde

    1. second-person singular present active imperative of dēcīdō

    Middle English

    Verb

    decide

    1. alternative form of deciden

    Portuguese

    Verb

    decide

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

    Romanian

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    Etymology tree
    Latin dēcidō
    French déciderbor.
    Romanian decide

      Borrowed from French décider, from Latin dēcidō.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /deˈt͡ʃi.de/
      • Audio:(file)
      • Rhymes: -ide
      • Hyphenation: de‧ci‧de

      Verb

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

      1. to decide
        Synonym: hotărî

      Conjugation

          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

      Further reading

      Spanish

      Pronunciation

      Verb

      decide

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