| / English Dictionary |
DEFINITIVE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Supplying or being a final or conclusive settlement
Example:
a determinate answer to the problem
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
conclusive (forming an end or termination; especially putting an end to doubt or question)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Clearly defined or formulated
Example:
the plain and unequivocal language of the laws
Synonyms:
definitive; unequivocal
Classified under:
Similar:
explicit; expressed (precisely and clearly expressed or readily observable; leaving nothing to implication)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Of recognized authority or excellence
Example:
the definitive work on Greece
Synonyms:
authoritative; definitive
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
standard (established or well-known or widely recognized as a model of authority or excellence)
Context examples:
The criteria state that existing cognitive impairment may be considered possible or probable AD by neuropsychological testing but definitive diagnosis requires histopathologic confirmation.
(NINCDS-ADRDA Criteria for Alzheimer's Disease, NCI Thesaurus)
A neoplasm displaying morphologic, phenotypic, or genotypic characteristics that are clearly not benign but do not permit the establishment of a definitive diagnosis of malignancy.
(Neoplasm of Uncertain Malignant Potential, NCI Thesaurus)
Greener plants are a likely indicator of increased plant growth and transpiration, but not a definitive one.
(New Study Shows the Amazon Makes Its Own Rainy Season, NASA)
TNM clinical findings are based on information obtained prior to the first definitive treatment through physical examination, diagnostic imaging, and biopsy.
(Bladder Cancer Clinical TNM Finding v6, NCI Thesaurus)
In the darkest and coldest parts of its polar regions, a team of scientists has directly observed definitive evidence of water ice on the Moon's surface.
(Ice Confirmed at the Moon's Poles, NASA)
However, until now no definitive evidence has existed for intermediate-mass black holes that could indicate a middle step between the small and massive black holes already detected.
(Astronomers Find New Evidence for Long-theorized Mid-sized Black Holes, VOA News)
Several individual experiments, such as fumigating forests with elevated levels of carbon dioxide and growing plants in gas-filled chambers, have provided critical data but no definitive answer globally.
(Study Suggests Trees' Potential to Slow Global Warming in Next 100 Years, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
Among the 88 children whose sesame-allergic status was definitive, 17% had sesame allergy.
(17% of Food-Allergic Children Have Sesame Allergy, National Institutes of Health)
Schwabl says, for now, there are no definitive studies that suggest a danger to humans.
(Researchers Discover Microplastics in 100 Percent of People Studied, VOA)
New research led by Colby College geologist Robert Gastaldo has revealed the most definitive proof to date that the extinctions did not occur at the same time.
(Mass extinction of land and sea biodiversity 250 million years ago not simultaneous, National Science Foundation)
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