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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Determinate problem

Determinate \De*ter"mi*nate\, a. [L. determinatus, p. p. of determinare. See Determine.]

  1. Having defined limits; not uncertain or arbitrary; fixed; established; definite.

    Quantity of words and a determinate number of feet.
    --Dryden.

  2. Conclusive; decisive; positive.

    The determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.
    --Acts ii. 2

  3. 3. Determined or resolved upon. [Obs.]

    My determinate voyage.
    --Shak.

  4. Of determined purpose; resolute. [Obs.]

    More determinate to do than skillful how to do.
    --Sir P. Sidney.

    Determinate inflorescence (Bot.), that in which the flowering commences with the terminal bud of a stem, which puts a limit to its growth; -- also called centrifugal inflorescence.

    Determinate problem (Math.), a problem which admits of a limited number of solutions.

    Determinate quantities, Determinate equations (Math.), those that are finite in the number of values or solutions, that is, in which the conditions of the problem or equation determine the number.