RESOLVED

Resolved is the past participle of the verb resolve and also an adjective. As an adjective, it describes something that has been decided, determined, or settled, such as a plan, a course of action, or a person’s mindset. It can convey firmness and clarity, as in a resolved stance or a resolved dispute, where the outcome is considered final or clear.

Etymology traces resolved to the Latin resolutus, the past participle of resolvere, meaning to loosen or unlock, with semantic development toward “to determine.” The word entered English via Old French and Middle English, evolving from the sense of breaking a problem apart to reach a decision or solution.

In use, resolved appears in both everyday and formal contexts. As a verb, one might say that a committee resolved to approve a proposal, meaning they decided to do so. As an adjective, a person who remains calm and unwavering may be described as resolved, and a problem that has been settled can be called resolved, as in “the issue is resolved.” In formal records, such as meeting minutes, resolutions are formal statements of decisions adopted by a group; once implemented and verified, they are noted as resolved.

In technology and science, resolved has specific uses. In information technology, a ticket or bug is marked resolved when the issue has been fixed and verified. In networking, resolution refers to translating a domain name to an IP address, with the term “resolved” used to indicate that the mapping succeeded. In astronomy and imaging, a source is described as resolved if its components can be distinguished given the observational resolution; otherwise it is unresolved.

See also: resolve, resolution, resolvable.