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Resolve

v. capable, thoughtful professional

What it means

Meaning 1

To find a satisfactory answer to a problem, uncertainty, or dispute.

Reach for it when describing work that turns an open difficulty into a settled outcome

One shared survey helped the neighbors resolve the boundary dispute.

Meaning 2

To make a firm decision or commit oneself to an action.

Reach for it when describing the moment intention becomes settled commitment

The trustees resolved to publish every inspection report.

Words to choose between 9

By register, from playful at the top to literary at the bottom, and by meaning across. Tap a word to see when it fits.
Meaning 1Meaning 2
playful
everyday
warm
professional
formal

Meaning 1: To find a satisfactory answer to a problem, uncertainty, or dispute.

  • everyday

    settle

    Fits when ending disagreement or uncertainty is central

    Careful A settlement may suppress rather than solve the cause.

  • warm

    reconcile

    Fits when restoring agreement or relationship matters

    Careful Reconciliation requires people, not every technical issue.

  • professional

    clarify

    Fits when removing ambiguity is the necessary result

    Careful Clarity can reveal a problem without resolving it.

  • professional

    solve

    Fits when a problem has a demonstrably correct answer

    Careful Solve fits technical problems better than human disputes.

Meaning 2: To make a firm decision or commit oneself to an action.

  • playful

    make up one's mind

    Fits when conversational language fits

    Careful The phrase can sound impatient about a difficult choice.

  • everyday

    decide

    Fits when choosing is the main action

    Careful A decision may remain tentative rather than resolute.

  • warm

    pledge

    Fits when a promise to others should be explicit

    Careful A pledge is public and stronger than a private resolve.

  • professional

    commit

    Fits when accepting an obligation is central

    Careful Commitment can follow a decision and is not identical to it.

  • formal

    determine

    Fits when a firm conclusion follows inquiry or will

    Careful Determine can also mean discover a fact.

Opposites 4

  • complicate
  • prolong
  • waver
  • reconsider

Common phrases 4

  • resolve a problem

    The engineers met onsite to resolve a problem with the drainage plan.

  • resolve a dispute

    A neutral map helped resolve a dispute between the two cooperatives.

  • resolve to act

    The committee must resolve to act before another winter passes.

  • firmly resolve

    After the audit, directors firmly resolved to change the approval process.

Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated