not precisely determined or established; not fixed or known in advance; "of indeterminate age"; "a zillion is a large indeterminate number"; "an indeterminate point of law"; "the influence of environment is indeterminate"; "an indeterminate future" [ant: determinate]
2.
having a capacity for continuing to grow at the apex; "an indeterminate stem" [ant: determinate]
3.
of uncertain or ambiguous nature; "the equivocal (or indeterminate) objects painted by surrealists"
4.
not capable of being determined; "the indeterminate number of plant species in the jungle"
5.
not leading to a definite ending or result; "an indeterminate campaign"
indeterminateAudio Help (ĭn'dĭ-tûr'mə-nĭt) Pronunciation Key
Continuing to grow at the apical meristem or the terminal bud indefinitely, allowing for the development of an ever-increasing number of plant organs such as leaves, stems, or flowers to the side.
In*def"i*nite\, a. [L. indefinitus. See In- not, and Definite.]1. Not definite; not limited, defined, or specified; not explicit; not determined or fixed upon; not precise; uncertain; vague; confused; obscure; as, an indefinite time, plan, etc. It were to be wished that . . . men would leave off that indefinite way of vouching, "the chymists say this," or "the chymists affirm that." --Boyle. The time of this last is left indefinite. --Dryden. 2. Having no determined or certain limits; large and unmeasured, though not infinite; unlimited; as indefinite space; the indefinite extension of a straight line. Though it is not infinite, it may be indefinite; though it is not boundless in itself, it may be so to human comprehension. --Spectator. 3. Boundless; infinite. [R.] Indefinite and omnipresent God, Inhabiting eternity. --W. Thompson (1745). 4. (Bot.) Too numerous or variable to make a particular enumeration important; -- said of the parts of a flower, and the like. Also, indeterminate. Indefinite article (Gram.), the word a or an, used with nouns to denote any one of a common or general class. Indefinite inflorescence. (Bot.) See Indeterminate inflorescence, under Indeterminate. Indefinite proposition (Logic), a statement whose subject is a common term, with nothing to indicate distribution or nondistribution; as, Man is mortal. Indefinite term (Logic), a negative term; as, the not-good. Syn: Inexplicit; vague; uncertain; unsettled; indeterminate; loose; equivocal; inexact; approximate.
![[P]](http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium_mh.gif){kind=small}
Audio Help [in-di-tur-muh-nit] Pronunciation Key 
