- not determinate; specif.,
- inexact in its limits, nature, etc.; indefinite; uncertain; vague: an indeterminate amount
- not yet settled, concluded, or known; doubtful or inconclusive
- Bot. racemose
Origin of indeterminate
Late Latin indeterminatus
adjective
- When no one is sure what caused a fire to start, this is an example of when the cause is indeterminate.
- When you add a pinch of sugar to a recipe but there's no set amount, this is an example of when the amount is indeterminate.
- When a person is on probation until his behavior indicates he has become a law abiding citizen, this is an example of an indeterminate sentence.
The definition of indeterminate is something vague or not established.
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"indeterminate." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Indeterminate>.
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indeterminate. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Indeterminate
indeterminate
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"indeterminate." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Indeterminate>.
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indeterminate. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Indeterminate
indeterminate
adjective
- a. Not precisely determined, determinable, or established: a person of indeterminate age.b. Not precisely fixed, as to extent, size, nature, or number: an indeterminate number of plant species in the jungle.c. Lacking clarity or precision, as in meaning; vague: an indeterminate turn of phrase.d. Not fixed or known in advance: an indeterminate future.e. Not leading up to a definite result or ending: an indeterminate campaign.
- Botany Not terminating in a flower and continuing to grow at the apex: an indeterminate inflorescence.
- Mathematics Having more than one variable and an infinite number of solutions, such as the equation 5 x 2 + 3 y = 10.
Origin of indeterminate
Middle English from Latin indēterminātus in- not ; see in- 1. dēterminātus determined ; see determinate .Related Forms:
- in′de·ter′mi·nate·ly
adverb
- in′de·ter′mi·nate·ness in′de·ter′mi·na′tion
noun
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"indeterminate." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Indeterminate>.
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indeterminate. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Indeterminate
Continuing to grow at the apical meristem or the terminal bud indefinitely, allowing for the development of an ever-increasing number of plant organs such as leaves, stems, or flowers to the side.
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"indeterminate." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Indeterminate>.
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indeterminate. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Indeterminate
Adjective
(comparative more indeterminate, superlative most indeterminate)
- Not accurately determined or determinable.
- Imprecise or vague.
- (biology) Of growth: with no genetically defined end, and thus theoretically limitless.
- (botany) Of inflorescences: not topped with some form of terminal bud.
- intersex
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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"indeterminate." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Indeterminate>.
APA Style
indeterminate. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Indeterminate
Sentence Examples
- There is no recognition whatever of the principle of the indeterminate sentence.
- But the bulk of the work consists of problems leading to indeterminate equations of the second degree, and these universally take the form that one or two (and never more) linear or quadratic functions of one variable x are to be made rational square numbers by finding a suitable value for x.
- All that can be said at present about this difficult etymology is that in the non-Semitic Babylonian the medial m represented quite evidently an indeterminate nasal which could also be indicated by the combination rig.
- 55) Passover are established, with two indeterminate notices (iv.
- Matter is the basework of each /3600s j it is the dark principle, the indeterminate, that which has no qualities, the µz 7 6v.
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