Basic Details
Word: Determine
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: To decide something firmly, to find out the facts about something exactly, or to control what happens.
Synonyms: decide, settle, establish, find out
How to Spell Determine
Syllables: de - ter - mine
Tricky part: The ending is ine, like mine, with a silent e; and the middle is ter, not tir. Students write determin or detirmine.
Watch out for: determin, detirmine, determain
Memory tip: The word ends in mine: I determine what is mine.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The weather will determine whether the match goes ahead.
Example 2: Scientists are trying to determine the age of the rock.
Example 3: Your daily habits help determine your health.
Fun Fact
Determine comes from the Latin terminus, a boundary, which also gave us terminal and terminate.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to determine as used in the sentence:
Doctors ran several tests to determine the cause of the patient's fever.
a) establish
b) delay
c) conceal
d) ignore
Show answer
a) establish. To determine the cause is to establish what it is; conceal and ignore do the reverse.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. determine 2. genuin 3. famin 4. medicin
a) a substance used to treat illness
b) find out exactly or decide
c) a severe shortage of food
d) real and not fake
Show answer
b) find out exactly or decide. Determine keeps its final e; genuine, famine and medicine need one too.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The judges will mertindee the winner by adding the scores from all three rounds.
a) undermine
b) determined
c) terminate
d) determine
Show answer
d) determine. Only one d appears in the jumble, so it cannot be determined; terminate and undermine need an a or a u.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. "Your effort will determine your result." Here determine means ____.
a) copy or repeat
b) hide or cover
c) delay or slow
d) decide or control
Show answer
d) decide or control
2. The noun formed from determine is ____.
a) determinition
b) determination
c) determinasion
d) determinetion
Show answer
b) determination
