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/dˈɛfənət/ Listen

adjective

Definite adj.

1.

Having certain or distinct; determinate in extent or greatness; limited; fixed; as, definite dimensions; a definite measure; a definite period or interval. "Elements combine in definite proportions."

2.

Having certain limits in signification; determinate; certain; precise; fixed; exact; clear; as, a definite word, term, or expression.

3.

Determined; resolved. (Obs.)

4.

Serving to define or restrict; limiting; determining; as, the definite article.

Definite article (Gram.), the article the, which is used to designate a particular person or thing, or a particular class of persons or things; also called a definitive. See Definitive, n. - -

Definite inflorescence. (Bot.) See Determinate inflorescence, under Determinate.

Law of definite proportions (Chem.), the essential law of chemical combination that every definite compound always contains the same elements in the same proportions by weight; and, if two or more elements form more than one compound with each other, the relative proportions of each are fixed. Compare Law of multiple proportions, under Multiple.

noun

Definite n. A thing defined or determined. (Obs.)

See images of 'Definite'

Etymology of 'Definite'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Definite" Quotes from Famous Books

... that he had at first cultivated the intimacy with Wilhelmina more perhaps from distraction than with any definite purpose, is certain; but he soon found that her attractions were too great to permit him to continue it, if he had not serious intentions. When he had entered his own room, before he had been a week in the house, he had taxed himself severely as to the nature of ...

— Snarley-yow - or The Dog Fiend • Frederick Marryat

... cursory glance, we may carry away wholly mistaken conceptions of its thought and purpose. Thus, for instance, the Roman Republic never assumed the definite design of conquering the world; its people had only the vaguest conception of whither the world might extend. They merely quarrelled with their neighbors, defeated and ...

— The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 03 • Various

... the North-West Company. The grizzled partners, as they rubbed elbows in secret conclave, decided that something must be done to crush this troublesome settlement. Whether or not they formed any definite plan cannot be ascertained. It is scarcely believable that at this meeting was plotted the opposition to Lord Selkirk's enterprise which was to begin with deceit and perfidy and to culminate in bloodshed. Among the Nor'westers were men of great worth and integrity. There were, however, ...

— The Red River Colony - A Chronicle of the Beginnings of Manitoba • Louis Aubrey Wood

... destruction suffered by the subcutaneous tissue, and the rapid repair which follows, since macroscopically the track is scarcely discernible. Reference to plate I. shows the remarkable fact that even at this early date considerable progress towards definite healing has occurred, and a thin layer of stratified epidermis covers the original opening. The question may be raised whether the origin of this epidermal layer is not in part a floating up of the margins of the ...

— Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900 • George Henry Makins

... uncertain character not devoid of pleasantry, perhaps, but indistinctly felt, and not calculated to raise laughter. This has led some to observe that in contradistinction to it—"Wit is sharply defined like a crystal." So Mr. Dallas writes, "Wit is of the known and definite; humour is of the unknown and indefinable. Wit is the unexpected exhibition of some clearly defined contrast or disproportion; humour the unexpected indication of a vague discordance, in which the sense or ...

— History of English Humour, Vol. 2 (of 2) • Alfred Guy Kingan L'Estrange

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