Synonyms of deciding

deciding 1 of 2

adjective

di-ˈsī-diŋ 

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

• decisive
• conclusive
• last
• definitive
• determinative
• clear
• determinate
• definite
• absolute
• convincing
• dispositive
• telling
• compelling
• sure
• indisputable
• positive
• unquestionable
• undeniable
• unanswerable
• incontestable
• uncontested
• irrefutable
• undisputed
• incontrovertible
• indubitable
• undisputable
• certain
• unchallenged
• inarguable
• undebatable
• unequivocal
• unambiguous
• persuasive
• hands-down
• cogent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unclear
• indecisive
• questionable
• doubtful
• inconclusive
• problematic
• debatable
• moot
• ambiguous
• disputable
• controversial
• disputed
• equivocal
• refutable
• doubtable
• debated

deciding

2 of 2

verb

present participle of decide

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

• choosing
• opting
• figuring
• determining
• resolving
• finding
• concluding
• picking
• settling (on or upon)
• ruling
• selecting
• naming
• electing
• decreeing
• preferring
• debating
• contemplating
• culling
• deliberating
• adjudicating
• considering
• pondering
• adjudging
• weighing
• judging
• studying
• ruling (on)
• thinking (about or over)
• handpicking
• arbitrating
• singling (out)
• questioning
• meditating
• cogitating
• ruminating
• refereeing
• entertaining
• umpiring
• mulling (over)
• chewing over

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• refusing
• rejecting
• declining
• abstaining
• delaying
• hesitating
• turning down
• stalling
• halting
• temporizing
• vacillating
• wavering
• waffling
• shilly-shallying

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

• determining
• settling
• judging
• considering
• adjudicating
• adjudging
• arbitrating
• resolving
• weighing
• hearing
• prosecuting
• ruling (on)
• deliberating
• pondering
• trying
• concluding
• refereeing
• deeming
• umpiring
• negotiating
• mediating
• moderating
• finding (for or against)
• sizing up
• redetermining
• rejudging

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hedging
• skirting
• equivocating
• pussyfooting

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

• arranging
• choosing
• planning
• figuring
• resolving
• designing
• setting
• finalizing
• fixing
• completing
• determining
• settling
• finishing
• agreeing (on)
• charting
• disposing of
• concluding
• shaping
• confirming
• calculating
• approving
• drafting
• dealing
• opting
• promising
• negotiating
• pledging
• contracting
• closing
• authorizing
• maneuvering
• framing
• scheming
• intriguing
• programming
• affirming
• ending
• sanctioning
• working out
• mapping (out)
• laying out
• bargaining
• schematizing
• concerting
• blueprinting
• warranting
• hammering out
• haggling
• squaring away
• winding up
• clearing
• rounding (off or out)
• dickering
• OK'ing
• wrapping up
• chaffering
• horse-trading

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• calling
• recalling
• dropping
• repealing
• revoking
• rescinding
• differing (over)
• opposing
• debating
• resisting
• protesting
• objecting
• aborting
• disagreeing (with)
• countering
• calling off
• contesting
• disputing

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

• determining
• settling
• clinching
• defining
• clarifying
• proving
• establishing
• ensuring
• nailing
• showing
• specifying
• assuring
• insuring
• securing
• demonstrating
• affirming
• illuminating
• stating
• ending
• finishing
• concluding
• stipulating
• nailing (down)
• clearing (up)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• confusing
• muddling
• unsettling
• muddying

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

• deriving
• understanding
• thinking
• concluding
• reasoning
• inferring
• judging
• guessing
• deducing
• assuming
• extrapolating
• speculating
• ascertaining
• reading
• gathering
• supposing
• contemplating
• making out
• drawing a conclusion
• interpreting
• construing
• rationalizing
• surmising
• conjecturing
• finding out
• philosophizing
• doping (out)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of deciding

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

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

Woodrow Wilson, having suffered a debilitating stroke in 1919, refused to yield the presidency while his wife and physician quietly hid his condition from the country, deciding on his behalf what the nation would be permitted to know. — Michael Sonnenfeldt, Fortune, 19 July 2026

The family deciding what to put on the table tonight does not, and there is no defensible reason for that. — Mike Snider, USA Today, 19 July 2026

During that time, board members toured multiple potential locations before ultimately deciding not to include one in the final plan. — Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 18 July 2026

On the other, a nation led by the best player in the history of the sport in Lionel Messi — now 39, but still capable of deciding the biggest matches almost single-handedly. — Mark Carey, New York Times, 18 July 2026

Renoir painted the Cahen d’Anvers sisters, including their elder sister, Irène, when France was coming out of a national crisis, turning itself from empire to re-public; deciding what and how to be. — Literary Hub, 17 July 2026

With governors deciding which programs in their state qualify, the states that can absorb the new demand will be the ones that can build the physical spaces where workforce training actually happens. — Alison Griffin, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

Successful principals deciding to leave the district following the takeover is unfortunate but just part of the process, Licata said. — Samuel O’Neal 17, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 July 2026

Out of loyalty to her father, Rhaenyra refuses, eventually deciding to send him north to the Wall. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 July 2026