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Resolve to Define Resolute
Resolute comes from the same Latin verb as resolved, and the two words are often synonyms. So how did it get this meaning from the Latin? Essentially, when you resolve a question or problem, you come to a conclusion, and once you've reached a conclusion you can proceed to act. So in your New Year's resolutions, you resolve—or make up your mind—to do something. Unfortunately, New Year's resolutions aren't a good illustration of the meaning of resolute, since only about one in ten actually seems to succeed.
Examples of resolute in a Sentence
George Caulkin, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
Takaichi has promised to be a resolute leader, but will need to learn the art of compromise while juggling priorities and trade-offs on domestic policies.
—Jeff Kingston, Time, 4 Oct. 2025
Much of the composition is given to the trio of commissioners who, tasked with investigating charges of bias in the trial, upheld the verdict—their faces sagging and stony, their staid officiousness echoing the resolute lines of the courthouse behind them.
—Nicole Rudick, The New York Review of Books, 2 Oct. 2025
This time, Schumer appears resolute.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for resolute
Cite this Entry
“Resolute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resolute. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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