decide

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Synonym Chooser

How does the verb decide differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of decide are determine, resolve, rule, and settle. While all these words mean "to come or cause to come to a conclusion," decide implies previous consideration of a matter causing doubt, wavering, debate, or controversy.

she decided to sell her house

When can determine be used instead of decide?

Although the words determine and decide have much in common, determine implies fixing the identity, character, scope, or direction of something.

determined the cause of the problem

In what contexts can resolve take the place of decide?

The synonyms resolve and decide are sometimes interchangeable, but resolve implies an expressed or clear decision or determination to do or refrain from doing something.

he resolved to quit smoking

When might rule be a better fit than decide?

In some situations, the words rule and decide are roughly equivalent. However, rule implies a determination by judicial or administrative authority.

the judge ruled that the evidence was inadmissible

When is settle a more appropriate choice than decide?

While the synonyms settle and decide are close in meaning, settle implies a decision reached by someone with power to end all dispute or uncertainty.

the dean's decision settled the campus alcohol policy

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of decide Since scientific interest in exoplanets is on the rise, Blue Skies Space decided to cover the increasing demand for observations of stellar flares with a small, low-cost telescope and sell the resulting data to scientists worldwide through a yearly subscription model. Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 17 Oct. 2025 That leaves management to decide which of Ty Emberson or Troy Stecher to expose to waivers (or trade). Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025 New York is 0-6 overall and 0-3 in games decided by two points or less. Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025 Some parents also decided to move their children from the school because of safety concerns. Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 17 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for decide
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decide
Verb
  • While the right technique for cutting can go a long way, nothing will have quite as much impact on the longevity of your blooms than choosing the right time to hit your garden with a bucket of lukewarm water and your sharpest shears in hand.
    Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2025
  • In Pullman’s world, evil is overcome by people choosing truth over lies, action over apathy and empathy over hate, every single day.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Investigators are still determining what caused the crash.
    Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Modern warfare increasingly depends on neuroscientific findings to help determine the best ways to train soldiers, defend populations against disinformation, and manage deterrence strategies.
    Big Think, Big Think, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • In a feat of logistics, the production miraculously arranged the shooting schedule so that every principal actor’s final scene on the show was also their last day of filming — something the Duffers have been freshly reliving again and again in the edit bay.
    Kate Aurthur, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
  • However, for years, police suspected that Charles arranged the murder of Markel.
    Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • His seventh-inning shot settled in the left-center bleachers and crushed the Brewers, who had finally chased him from the mound by getting two runners on in the top of the inning, only to go scoreless anyway when reliever Alex Vesia escaped the jam.
    Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2025
  • To get the $300 in bonus bets, your initial $5 bet has to settle as a win, and your wager must be on a market that has odds of -500 or longer.
    Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Trade patterns and alliances may shift but great companies understand the importance of rotating across geographies to develop talent for leadership roles.
    Diane Brady, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Lyra’s quest to understand Dust brings her into confrontation with human and other worldly forces who champion moral absolutism over imagination, ignorance over knowledge, authoritarianism over free will and cold, disinterested rationality over empathy.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • For the outing, Dobrev opted for Victoria Beckham‘s stiletto sandals in black leather.
    Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2025
  • This pattern would suggest that a potential trilogy capper would be set during the Blake siblings’ college years, but McGraw is opting to not get ahead of herself just yet.
    Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Actors Jesse Williams and Clarence Maclin, along with other artists and entertainment influencers, are slated to serve on an industry jury to judge short films alongside a panel of inmates, who will assess feature-length submissions.
    Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
  • This hesitancy is common, Travers said, because people may be fearful of being judged or of having their trauma follow them later in life.
    Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The word euphoria is derived from ancient Greek.
    Janine Di Giovanni, Travel + Leisure, 11 Oct. 2025
  • This playful matcha bowl derives its inspiration from Japanese lore that believes rabbits inhabit the moon.
    Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 10 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Decide.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decide. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

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