decidere

Decidere is an Italian verb meaning to decide or to make up one’s mind about something, and to determine a course of action or outcome. It is a regular -ere verb and transitive. In the present indicative the forms are: io decido, tu decidi, lui/lei decide, noi decidiamo, voi decidete, loro decidono. The past participle is deciso, and compound tenses are formed with the auxiliary avere (ho deciso, hai deciso, ha deciso, abbiamo deciso, avete deciso, hanno deciso).

Grammatical usage: decidere takes a direct object when naming what is decided, as in deciding a date or a matter. More commonly it is followed by di and an infinitive to express deciding to do something, for example, “decidere di partire.” The reflexive form decidersi means to make up one’s mind about something oneself, often followed by a or an infinitive, as in “mi sono deciso a partire.” The verb is closely related to scegliere, with decision conceived as the act of finalizing a choice.

Etymology: decidere derives from Latin decidere, formed from de- “off” and caedere “to cut,” conveying the sense of cutting off alternatives to reach a conclusion. The related noun decisione shares the same root; the English word decision likewise derives from this lineage.

See also: decisione, prendere una decisione, scelta, risoluzione. Examples: “Abbiamo deciso di restare” demonstrates a final choice, while “Non so ancora cosa decidere” shows ongoing deliberation. Decidere is a core verb in formal and informal Italian, used across contexts from planning to policy-making.