Definition of Indeterminate

1. Adjective. Not precisely determined or established; not fixed or known in advance. "An indeterminate future"


2. Adjective. Having a capacity for continuing to grow at the apex. "An indeterminate stem"
Category relationships: Botany, Phytology
Similar to: Racemose
Antonyms: Determinate

3. Adjective. Of uncertain or ambiguous nature. "The equivocal (or indeterminate) objects painted by surrealists"
Similar to: Ambiguous, Equivocal
Derivative terms: Indeterminateness

4. Adjective. Not capable of being determined. "The indeterminate number of plant species in the jungle"
Similar to: Indeterminable, Undeterminable
Derivative terms: Indeterminateness

5. Adjective. Not leading to a definite ending or result. "An indeterminate campaign"
Similar to: Inconclusive
Derivative terms: Indeterminateness

Definition of Indeterminate

1. a. Not determinate; not certain or fixed; indefinite; not precise; as, an indeterminate number of years.

Definition of Indeterminate

1. Adjective. Not accurately determined or determinable. ¹

2. Adjective. Imprecise or vague. ¹

3. Adjective. (biology) Of growth: with no genetically defined end, and thus theoretically limitless. ¹

4. Adjective. (botany) Of inflorescences: not topped with some form of terminal bud. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Indeterminate

1. [adj]

Medical Definition of Indeterminate

1. Of growth: the condition in which the terminal bud persists and produces successive lateral branches. (09 Oct 1997)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Indeterminate

indesirable
indestructable
indestructibility
indestructible
indestructibleness
indestructibly
indetectable
indeterminable
indeterminables
indeterminably
indeterminacies
indeterminacy
indeterminacy principle
indeterminant
indeterminants
indeterminate (current term)
indeterminate cleavage
indeterminate leprosy
indeterminately
indeterminateness
indeterminates
indetermination
indetermined
indeterminism
indeterminisms
indeterminist
indeterministic
indeterminists
indevirginate
indevote

Literary usage of Indeterminate

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Bulletin by Public Ownership League of America (1922)
"The indeterminate franchise is a form of grant that ~- :eks to avoid the ... This general type of franchise is nown as the "indeterminate permit" in the ..."

2. Municipal Franchises: A Description of the Terms and Conditions Upon which by Delos Franklin Wilcox (1911)
"STREET RAILWAY FRANCHISES THAT ARE indeterminate. 866. Increasing prestige of the indeter- 372. Consolidation of Boston street minate franchise. railways ..."

3. A Dictionary of Science, Literature, & Art: Comprising the Definitions and by William Thomas Brande, George William Cox (1866)
"The genera form of an indeterminate equation of the first degree is ax + by ... The solution of a system of indeterminate equations of the first degree is ..."

4. Algebra: An Elementary Text-book for the Higher Classes of Secondary Schools by George Chrystal (1893)
"We have already seen, in chap, xv., that u + v becomes indeterminate when u and v are infinite but of opposite sign; that uxv becomes indeterminate if one ..."

5. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General by Thomas Spencer Baynes (1888)
"The expression u* becomes indeterminate in some eases ; for suppose y—u', ... This latter product becomes indeterminate whenever one of its factors is zero ..."

6. Advanced Calculus: A Text Upon Select Parts of Differential Calculus by Edwin Bidwell Wilson (1912)
"The question of determining or evaluating an indeterminate form is merely ... Hence an indeterminate form 0/0 or oo/oo may be replaced by the quotient of ..."

7. A History of Greek Mathematics by Thomas Little Heath (1921)
"indeterminate equations of the first degree. The Anthology contains (4) two ... Nor was he the first to solve indeterminate problems of the second degree. ..."

8. Elements of the Differential and Integral Calculus by William Anthony Granville, Percey Franklyn Smith (1904)
"In case the new fraction is indeterminate for the given value of the variable, we repeat the process as in the last section. To prove this rule we must show ..."

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