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v. re·solved, re·solv·ing, re·solves v.tr. 1. a. To make a firm decision about: resolved that I would do better next time. See Synonyms at decide. b. To decide or express by formal vote: The legislature resolved that the official should be impeached. c. To cause (a person) to reach a decision: "He was resolved to enjoy the success he had earned" (F. Scott Fitzgerald). 2. To change or convert: My resentment resolved itself into resignation. 3. To find a solution to; solve: resolved the problem. 4. To remove or dispel (doubts). 5. To bring to a usually successful conclusion: resolve a conflict. 6. Medicine To cause reduction of (an inflammation, for example). 7. Music To cause (a tone or chord) to progress from dissonance to consonance. 8. Chemistry To separate (an optically inactive compound or mixture) into its optically active constituents. 9. To render parts of (an image) visible and distinct. 10. Mathematics To separate (a vector, for example) into coordinate components. 11. Archaic To separate (something) into constituent parts. 12. Obsolete To cause (something) to melt or dissolve: "O, that this too too solid flesh would melt / Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!" (Shakespeare). v.intr. 1. To reach a decision or make a determination: resolve on a course of action. 2. To become separated or reduced to constituents. 3. Music To undergo resolution. n. 1. Firmness of purpose; resolution: "my fierce, indignant resolve to visit those sun-kissed islands" (Caitlin Flanagan). 2. A determination or decision; a fixed purpose: "She had come to a resolve to undertake outdoor work in her native village" (Thomas Hardy). 3. A formal resolution made by a deliberative body. [Middle English resolven, to dissolve, from Old French resolver, from Latin resolvere, to untie : re-, re- + solvere, to untie; see leu- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] re·solv′a·bili·ty, re·solva·ble·ness n. re·solva·ble adj. re·solved·ly (-zŏlvĭd-lē) adv. re·solver n. |
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