resolve

firm or unwavering adherence to one's purpose a naval pilot who has been unwavering in his resolve to become an astronaut Synonyms decidedness, decision, decisiveness, determinedness, firmness, granite, purposefulness, resoluteness, resolution, determination, stick-to-itivenessRelated Words doggedness, obduracy, obdurateness, obstinacy, obstinateness, perseverance, persistence, persistency, stubbornness, tenaciousness, tenacity; certainty, certitude, confidence, sureness; alacrity, eagerness, gameness, readiness; backbone, fortitude, grit, iron, pluck, sandNear Antonyms doubt, incertitude, indetermination, uncertainty; aversion, disinclination, indisposition, reluctance, unwillingnessAntonyms hesitation, indecision, indecisiveness, irresoluteness, irresolution, vacillation

1 to come to a judgment about after discussion or consideration I resolved to eat more healthily and to exercise regularly Synonyms choose, conclude, determine, figure, name, opt, decide, settle (on or upon)Related Words decree, rule; cull, elect, handpick, pick, prefer, select, single (out); adjudge, adjudicate, arbitrate, find, judge, referee, rule (on), umpire; chew over, cogitate, consider, contemplate, debate, deliberate, entertain, meditate, mull (over), ponder, question, ruminate, study, think (about or over), weighNear Antonyms abstain, decline, refuse, reject, turn down; delay, halt, hesitate, stall, temporize; shilly-shally, vacillate, waffle, waver

2 to find an answer for through reasoning resolve the apparent contradictions in the collected data Synonyms answer, break, crack, dope (out), figure out, puzzle (out), solve, riddle (out), unravel, unriddle, work, work outRelated Words conclude, decide, deduce, gather, infer, judge, reason; clear (up), iron out, straighten (out), unscramble, untangle, untie; assume, conjecture, divine, guess, presume, speculate; decipher, decode

3 to set or force apart a prism will resolve a beam of light into an array of colors Synonyms break up, decouple, disassociate, disconnect, disjoin, disjoint, dissever, dissociate, disunite, divide, divorce, part, ramify, separate, sever, split, sunder, uncouple, unlink, unyokeRelated Words break down, decompose, disassemble, disintegrate, dissolve; bifurcate, bisect, cleave, dichotomize, dissect, fractionalize, fractionate, halve, partition, quarter, segment, subdivide, trisect; fragment, fragmentate, fragmentize; break, fracture, pull, rend, rift, rip, rive, rupture, tear; cut off, insulate, isolate, seclude, segregate, sequester; detach, disengage, disentangle, unravel, untieNear Antonyms assemble, associate, blend, combine, mingle, mix; connect, couple; accumulate, agglutinate, attach, bind, cement, close, fasten, fuse, knit, stick, weldAntonyms join, link, unify, unite