Determination

views updated May 21 2018

175. Determination (See also Perseverance.)

  1. Agathocles (361289 B. C.) Syracusan king; burned his ships behind him in attacking Carthage. [Gk. Hist.: Walsh Classical, 9]
  2. Balboa, Rocky determined prize fighter takes on impossible dream. [Am. Cinema: Rocky in EB (1978), 552]
  3. bulldog bred for doggedly refusing to let go. [Dog Breeding: Misc.]
  4. Dry Guillotine book by French escapee from Devils Island. [Fr. Lit.: Dry Guillotine ]
  5. Ignatz tenaciously refuses Krazy Kats advances. [Comics: Krazy Kat in Horn, 436437]
  6. Jones, John Paul (17471792) Revolutionary War naval hero; remembered for saying; I have not yet begun to fight! [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 260261]
  7. Keller, Helen (18801968) though blind and deaf, becomes noted author and lecturer. [Am. Hist.: Hart, 439440]
  8. Little Engine That Could succeeds when others refuse to help. [Childrens Lit.: The Little Engine That Could ]
  9. Message to Garcia, A against great odds, American officer makes his way to Cuban general leading a revolt against Spain. [Am. Lit. and Hist.: Benét, 662]
  10. Papillon wily prisoner endeavors repeatedly to escape from Devils Island. [Fr. Lit.: Papillon ]
  11. Santiago struggles long and hard for great fish. [Am. Lit.: Old Man and the Sea ]
  12. tortoise slow and steady, it wins the race against the hare. [Animal Symbolism: Mercatante, 22; Gk. Lit.: Aesop, The Tortoise and the Hare]
  13. Tovesky, Marie outgoing and friendly, despite husbands insane jealousy. [Am. Lit.: O Pioneers!, Magill I, 663665]

determination

views updated May 14 2018

de·ter·mi·na·tion / diˌtərməˈnāshən/ • n. 1. firmness of purpose; resoluteness: he advanced with an unflinching determination.2. the process of establishing something exactly, typically by calculation or research: determination of molecular structures. ∎  Law the settlement of a dispute by the authoritative decision of a judge or arbitrator. ∎  Law a judicial decision or sentence.3. the controlling or deciding of something's nature or outcome: genetic sex determination.4. Law the cessation of an estate or interest.5. archaic a tendency to move in a fixed direction.

Determination

views updated May 14 2018

DETERMINATION

The final resolution or conclusion of a controversy.

In legal use, determination usually implies the conclusion of a dispute or lawsuit by the rendering of a final decision. After consideration of the facts, a determination is generally set forth by a court of justice or other type of formal decision maker, such as the head of an administrative agency.

Determination has been used synonymously with adjudication, award, decree, and judgment. A ruling is a judicial determination concerning matters, such as the admissibility of evidence or a judicial or an administrative interpretation of a statute or regulation.