01 a. Free from ambiguity; unequivocal; unmistakable; unquestionable; clear; evident; as, a decided advantage.
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1.
Free from ambiguity; unequivocal; unmistakable; unquestionable; clear; evident; as, a decided advantage.
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2.
Free from doubt or wavering; determined; of fixed purpose; fully settled; positive; resolute; as, a decided opinion or purpose.
Syn.
Decided, Decisive.
We call a thing decisive when it has the power or quality of deciding; as, a decisive battle; we speak of it as decided when it is so fully settled as to leave no room for doubt; as, a decided preference, a decided aversion. Hence, a decided victory is one about which there is no question; a decisive victory is one which ends the contest. Decisive is applied only to things; as, a decisive sentence, a decisive decree, a decisive judgment. Decided is applied equally to persons and things. Thus we speak of a man as decided in his whole of conduct; and as having a decided disgust, or a decided reluctance, to certain measures. “A politic caution, a guarded circumspection, were among the ruling principles of our forefathers in their most decided conduct.” Burke. “The sentences of superior judges are final, decisive, and irrevocable.” Blackstone.