Definite vs definitive
Definite means clear and certain, or firmly fixed, as in a definite date. Definitive means final and settling a matter, or trusted as the authority. A definite answer is clear, and a definitive answer settles the question.
definite adjective
Sure and clear, with no doubt at all.
- There is now definite proof that the medicine works.
- I noticed a definite change in his mood after lunch.
definitive adjective
Settling a matter in a final way, or complete and trusted as the authority on something.
- The DNA test gave a definitive answer about who the father was.
- Her book is still the definitive biography of the composer, forty years after it came out.
Watch out
- In grammar, definite describes a word like the, or a noun phrase, that points to one known thing. The is called the definite article, never the definitive article.In English, the article 'the' makes a noun phrase definite.
- A definitive is also an ordinary postage stamp made for everyday use rather than to celebrate something.The new definitive shows a lighthouse and comes in every value from one cent to five dollars.
Test yourself
This dictionary is the blank guide to old English place names.
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definitive. It is the complete and trusted guide, so definitive.
I have a blank feeling that something is wrong.
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definite. The feeling is clear and certain, so definite.
The court's blank ruling ended the long dispute for good.
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definitive. The ruling settled the matter finally, so definitive.
There was a blank improvement in her grades this term.
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definite. The improvement is clear, with no doubt, so definite.
Full entries: definitedefinitive