as in decisive
serving to put an end to all debate or questioning
the project's prohibitive cost was the deciding factor in its cancellation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in choosing
to come to a judgment about after discussion or consideration
they decided to go out for pizza after the movie was over
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in determining
to give an opinion about (something at issue or in dispute)
the judge decided that the defendant was not liable for damages
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in arranging
to come to an agreement or decision concerning the details of
we waited for our captors to decide our fate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in settling
to make final, definite, or beyond dispute
the huge sum that they were offering decided the matter: we would sell the house
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in deriving
to form an opinion or reach a conclusion through reasoning and information
the commanding officer decided that the soldier was indeed telling the truth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deciding
Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2025
The bullpen gave up the lead on the first pitch, and then three more in the deciding 10th inning.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2025
Travis weeks earlier cited as the deciding and unprecedented factor.
—Chris Vannini, The Athletic, 9 Dec. 2024
As a result of the split, Sheboygan city residents play no deciding role in either of the two districts, which both lean heavily Republican.
—Journal Sentinel, 9 Jan. 2024
Several people said the job fell to Tillis to convince enough Republican colleagues to vote in favor of the bill so no one person had to be the final deciding vote.
—Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 5 Dec. 2022
Playoff baseball is never easy. Shelby County knows that all too well following a highly-competitive deciding game against a fresh-faced St. Paul’s squad with rally blood pumping through its veins.
—Evan Dudley, al, 23 Apr. 2022
The jurors in the Rittenhouse trial were overwhelmingly White not only in the original pool of 179 prospects but also in the final deciding panel of 12, where there was only one person of color.
—Omar Jimenez, CNN, 23 Nov. 2021
Houck would be an obvious candidate to start again if the Sox are able to push this series to a fifth and deciding game.
—BostonGlobe.com, 9 Oct. 2021
Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2026
Of course, not all airports serve the same destinations, and differences in travel time and parking fees should be considered when deciding which airport to depart from.
—Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 15 Feb. 2026
Niederhofer, 32, worked in the oil industry before deciding in 2019 to jump into bobsledding.
—American-Statesman Staff, Austin American Statesman, 15 Feb. 2026
The Office of the Texas Attorney General is regularly tasked with deciding whether or not records should be released through open records requests.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
The High Court determined that former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (who now serves as Foreign Secretary) had not properly followed her own policies when deciding what constitutes an organization being proscribed under the Terrorism Act.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
Monitoring high-level athletes for drug misuse is nothing new, but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) surprised many people recently by deciding to track the use of GLP-1 drugs, such as the diabetes and obesity treatments Ozempic (semaglutide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide).
—Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 13 Feb. 2026
This approach may appeal to taxpayers who want more personalized guidance at the beginning of the tax relief process before deciding how to proceed.
—Roxanne Downer, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Austria and Canada coming from 2-1 down to beat Japan and Brazil, the latter coming from Liam Draxl seeing out a win over Gustavo Heide despite rolling his ankle in the seventh game of the deciding rubber.
—James Hansen, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
Instead, the person must show race was the crucial and deciding factor.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2025
The bullpen gave up the lead on the first pitch, and then three more in the deciding 10th inning.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2025
Travis weeks earlier cited as the deciding and unprecedented factor.
—Chris Vannini, The Athletic, 9 Dec. 2024
As a result of the split, Sheboygan city residents play no deciding role in either of the two districts, which both lean heavily Republican.
—Journal Sentinel, 9 Jan. 2024
Several people said the job fell to Tillis to convince enough Republican colleagues to vote in favor of the bill so no one person had to be the final deciding vote.
—Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 5 Dec. 2022
Playoff baseball is never easy. Shelby County knows that all too well following a highly-competitive deciding game against a fresh-faced St. Paul’s squad with rally blood pumping through its veins.
—Evan Dudley, al, 23 Apr. 2022
The jurors in the Rittenhouse trial were overwhelmingly White not only in the original pool of 179 prospects but also in the final deciding panel of 12, where there was only one person of color.
—Omar Jimenez, CNN, 23 Nov. 2021
Houck would be an obvious candidate to start again if the Sox are able to push this series to a fifth and deciding game.
—BostonGlobe.com, 9 Oct. 2021
Verb
Denver’s return from the bye week in Washington was anything but pretty defensively until Nik Bonitto made one of the plays of the season, batting down a deciding two-point conversion attempt in overtime and sealing the Broncos’ eighth straight win.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2026
Of course, not all airports serve the same destinations, and differences in travel time and parking fees should be considered when deciding which airport to depart from.
—Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 15 Feb. 2026
Niederhofer, 32, worked in the oil industry before deciding in 2019 to jump into bobsledding.
—American-Statesman Staff, Austin American Statesman, 15 Feb. 2026
The Office of the Texas Attorney General is regularly tasked with deciding whether or not records should be released through open records requests.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
The High Court determined that former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (who now serves as Foreign Secretary) had not properly followed her own policies when deciding what constitutes an organization being proscribed under the Terrorism Act.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
Monitoring high-level athletes for drug misuse is nothing new, but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) surprised many people recently by deciding to track the use of GLP-1 drugs, such as the diabetes and obesity treatments Ozempic (semaglutide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide).
—Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 13 Feb. 2026
This approach may appeal to taxpayers who want more personalized guidance at the beginning of the tax relief process before deciding how to proceed.
—Roxanne Downer, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Austria and Canada coming from 2-1 down to beat Japan and Brazil, the latter coming from Liam Draxl seeing out a win over Gustavo Heide despite rolling his ankle in the seventh game of the deciding rubber.
—James Hansen, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deciding
Adjective
-
The Crimson got goals from Samuel Biederwolf, Luke Steen, Jaden Roueche, Grady Kranz, Henry Miller, Matthew Johnson and Wyatt Kuznik in the decisive win.—
Pioneer Press,
Twin Cities,
19 Feb. 2026
-
The vote on Wednesday proved to be more decisive for Meyer.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Your strength lies not in not needing anyone, but in consciously choosing with whom to move forward.—
Marie Bladt,
Vogue,
20 Feb. 2026
-
If even deciding where to start seems difficult, Bereika suggests choosing the smallest category.—
Quincy Bulin,
Southern Living,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Investigators are still determining why the substation was targeted.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Feb. 2026
-
InsureandGo set out to put some debate to rest by determining the world’s most authentic destinations for discerning travelers.—
Lydia Price,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Of course, standard service like checking you in, unpacking your luggage, and arranging your room and amenities to your liking is taken care of effortlessly.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Since then, Elizabeth has been as important to Copeland’s professional life as his personal life, co-founding a children’s theater school with him, arranging his music, and supporting him as he was launched from obscurity.—
Matthew Blackwell,
Pitchfork,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Ireland, the Steelers and the Rooney connection The Rooney family, the Steelers’ majority owners, trace their roots to Ireland, where their ancestors emigrated from in the 1840s before eventually settling in Pittsburgh.—
Tom Chitty,
CNBC,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Tripp’s writing has become less brutally pointed as his music has become looser, settling into a form of vibey psych-rock that’s nearly unrecognizable from Angel Du$t’s Ramones-via-Bad Brains origins.—
Eli Enis,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The very legitimacy of deriving general principles from the particulars of experience can never be established from experience without already having the principle in hand.—
Christopher Beha,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Large language models represent the first technology capable of analyzing, contextualizing and deriving insights from this avalanche of information.—
Sahar Hashmi,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Atila found residues in seven different vessels but only obtained a conclusive result from one artifact excavated in the ancient city of Pergamon that dates from the second century.—
Jack Guy,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
-
But the research isn’t conclusive.—
Adithi Ramakrishnan,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Consumers also continue to shift their viewing habits, opting for phone-first experiences and bite-size content on social media platforms.—
Lauren Wilson,
NBC news,
13 Feb. 2026
-
How To Resolve These Problems But that shouldn’t necessarily deter you from opting for a home with lots of natural light.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deciding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deciding. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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