de·ter·mi·na·tive

[dih-tur-muh-ney-tiv, -nuh-tiv]
adjective
1.
serving to determine; determining.
noun
2.
something that determines.
3.
a graphic symbol used in ideographic writing to denote a semantic class and written next to a word to indicate in what semantic category that word is to be understood, thus at times distinguishing homographs.

Origin:
1645–55; probably < Medieval Latin dēterminātīvus fixed, Late Latin: crucial (of a disease), equivalent to Latin dētermināt(us) (see determinate) + -īvus -ive

de·ter·mi·na·tive·ly, adverb
de·ter·mi·na·tive·ness, noun
non·de·ter·mi·na·tive, adjective, noun
non·de·ter·mi·na·tive·ly, adverb
non·de·ter·mi·na·tive·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To determinative
00:10
Determinative is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
Collins
World English Dictionary
determinative (dɪˈtɜːmɪnətɪv) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  able to or serving to settle or determine; deciding
 
n
2.  a factor, circumstance, etc, that settles or determines
3.  grammar a less common word for determiner
4.  (in a logographic writing system) a logogram that bears a separate meaning, from which compounds and inflected forms are built up
 
de'terminatively
 
adv
 
de'terminativeness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

determinative
1650s (adj.); 1832 (n.), from Fr. déterminatif (15c.), from L. determinatus, pp. of determinare (see determine).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
When it comes to objectivity, then, the determinative factor is who's doing the
  determining.
The work of engineers and physical scientists, however, is likely to be
  determinative.
And the evidence of misogyny in the press and elsewhere is irrefutable, even if
  it was not the determinative factor in the race.
In other cases, the determinative methods contain guidance on preparing the
  reference sample concentrate and the reference sample.
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