# resolve

Pronunciation: say "ri-ZOLV" US /ɹɪˈzɑlv/, UK /ɹɪˈzɒlv/

## Verb

1. To find a solution to a problem or difficulty and bring it to an end.
   - Simple: To find a way to fix a problem or end an argument.
   - _The city council resolved the flooding problem with a new drainage system._
   - _Engineers worked overnight to resolve the software glitch._
2. To become firmly determined to reach a goal or carry out a particular action.
   - Simple: To decide firmly that you will do something.
   - _The committee resolved to meet again the following month._
   - _I resolve to finish what I started, no matter the obstacles._
3. To come to an agreement and make peace, settling the differences between people.
   - Simple: To make peace and settle a disagreement with someone.
   - _After months of tension, the partners managed to resolve their differences._
   - _The families resolved their dispute and shared a meal together._
6. To decide or settle something firmly in purpose; to fix one's mind upon a course and make it certain.
   - Simple: To decide something firmly and settle it in your mind.
   - _After much thought, he resolved the course he would take._
   - _The committee must resolve its position ahead of the vote._
7. To free someone from doubt; to inform, convince, or assure them of something and make them certain.
   - Simple: To make someone feel sure about something by clearing up their doubts.
   - _Pray, resolve me whether the rumors are true._
   - _The teacher resolved the students of their confusion with a clear example._
8. To break something down into simpler or more intelligible parts; to make it clear, unravel it, or explain it.
   - Simple: To break something down into simpler parts so it is easy to understand.
   - _The analyst resolved the tangled argument into its basic premises._
   - _Philosophers try to resolve abstract concepts into clearer terms._
10. To look up the network address of a hostname, or the item a symbol refers to in source code.
   - Simple: To look up the address or item that a name stands for on a computer network.
   - _The DNS server failed to resolve the hostname during the outage._
   - _The compiler resolves each symbol to its declaration before linking._
11. To make the separate parts of something visible or distinguishable, as through a lens or other instrument.
   - Simple: To show the separate parts of something clearly, as through a lens or telescope.
   - _The new lens resolves fine details that older models blurred together._
   - _Astronomers struggled to resolve the two stars, so close they appeared as one._
12. To bring a chord from dissonance to consonance.
   - Simple: To move a chord from a tense sound to a calm, settled one.
   - _A skilled composer knows exactly when to resolve a dissonant chord._
   - _The suspended fourth finally resolves to the tonic in the last measure._
13. To break down into constituent parts; to decompose or disintegrate into a simpler state.
   - Simple: To break something down into its smaller parts, or to fall apart into them.
   - _Chemists can resolve the substance into its constituent parts._
   - _Without care, the ancient timbers resolve back into soil._
14. To separate a racemic compound into its constituent enantiomers.
   - Simple: To separate a mix of mirror-image molecules into its two separate kinds.
   - _Chemists resolve the racemate by forming diastereomeric salts._
   - _The pharmacist resolved the racemic drug into its active enantiomer._
21. Alternative spelling of re-solve. — Alternative spelling of re-solve. (pronounced: say "ree-SOLV" US /ˌɹiˈsɑlv/, UK /ˌɹiːˈsɒlv/)
   - Simple: Alternative spelling of re-solve. It means to solve again. Write re-solve to avoid confusion with resolve.
   - _Given the flawed data, the analysts had to resolve the whole system a second time._
   - _He decided to resolve the model after the first attempt produced errors._

## Noun

4. Firmness of purpose; the determination and strength of will to follow through on what you intend.
   - Simple: Strong willpower that pushes you to keep trying toward a goal.
   - _The team showed remarkable resolve in the final minutes._
   - _His resolve carried him through the toughest training of his life._
5. A fixed decision or firm intention to carry out a particular action.
   - Simple: A firm choice to do a certain thing.
   - _He kept his resolve to finish the degree despite setbacks._
   - _Her quiet resolve to leave the company surprised everyone._
9. An act of resolving something; the settling or solving of a matter.
   - Simple: An act of solving or settling something.
   - _The committee praised the swift resolve of the funding dispute._
   - _A fair resolve of the conflict required compromise from everyone._

## Verb

15. To cause an inflammation or tumor to disperse and gradually disappear. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To make a swelling or inflammation slowly go away.
   - _Poultices were once believed to resolve tumors without surgery._
   - _A good poultice, the surgeon claimed, resolves stubborn inflammations._
16. To melt, dissolve, or soften a solid into a liquid. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To heat a solid until it turns soft or becomes liquid.
   - _The alchemist sought a fire hot enough to resolve gold into a flowing liquid._
   - _Gentle warmth resolves the hardened resin into a workable paste._
17. To melt or dissolve, passing from a solid into a liquid. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To turn from a solid into a liquid by melting.
   - _Solids of this kind resolve quickly when the temperature climbs._
   - _Under the midday heat, the frost resolves into glistening droplets._
18. To find the solution to an equation or similar mathematical problem. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To find the answer to an equation or math problem.
   - _Early algebraists struggled to resolve cubic equations by general methods._
   - _He resolved the system of equations using substitution._
19. To condense a gas or vapor into a liquid. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To turn a gas or vapor into a liquid.
   - _Natural philosophers believed extreme cold could resolve air into water._
   - _The chilled chamber resolved the vapor into droplets on its walls._
20. To relax and lie at ease; to rest comfortably. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To rest and lie back in a calm, easy way.

## Origin

From Middle English resolven, from Old French resolver, a learned borrowing of Latin resolvō ("to loosen, thaw, melt, resolve"), which is re- plus solve.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/resolve (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).