v., -solved, -solv·ing, -solves. v.tr.
- To make a firm decision about.
- To cause (a person) to reach a decision. See synonyms at decide.
- To decide or express by formal vote.
- To change or convert: My resentment resolved itself into resignation.
- To find a solution to; solve. See synonyms at solve.
- To remove or dispel (doubts).
- To bring to a usually successful conclusion: resolve a conflict.
- Medicine. To cause reduction of (an inflammation, for example).
- Music. To cause (a tone or chord) to progress from dissonance to consonance.
- Chemistry. To separate (an optically inactive compound or mixture) into its optically active constituents.
- To render parts of (an image) visible and distinct.
- Mathematics. To separate (a vector, for example) into coordinate components.
- To melt or dissolve (something).
- Archaic. To separate (something) into constituent parts.
- To reach a decision or make a determination: resolve on a course of action.
- To become separated or reduced to constituents.
- Music. To undergo resolution.
- Firmness of purpose; resolution.
- A determination or decision; a fixed purpose.
- A formal resolution made by a deliberative body.
[Middle English resolven, to dissolve, from Old French resolver, from Latin resolvere, to untie : re-, re- + solvere, to untie.]
resolvability re·solv'a·bil'i·ty or re·solv'a·ble·ness n.resolvable re·solv'a·ble adj.
resolvedly re·solv'ed·ly (-zŏl'vĭd-lē) adv.
resolver re·solv'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
