Determines

Determines is the third-person singular present form of the verb determine. It denotes causing something to happen, deciding something, or establishing a fact, parameter, or outcome. The sense ranges from making a decision to fixing a value or controlling the course of events, to deducing a conclusion from evidence.

Etymology and related forms: determine comes from Latin determinare, from de- “off” + terminare “to bound, limit,” with terminus meaning end. English uses determiner in a different sense, but the verb forms as determine, determines, determined, determination, and related adjectives such as deterministic.

Usage and senses: In everyday language, one might say, “The test results determine the next steps,” meaning the results fix or decide what happens next. In economics or science, “X determines Y” indicates that Y depends on or is functionally dependent on X. In law or governance, a body may determine policy, rules, or outcomes. The sense of determining can also denote concluding by reasoning, as in “We determine the cause after reviewing the evidence.” The term is regular in English conjugation: determine → determines (present), determined (past), determining (present participle).

See also: determine (base form), determination (noun), deterministic (adjective), determinism, dependence.