Resolute

How to spell resolute

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce resolute

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does resolute mean?

1. adjectiveFirmly determined and unwavering in purpose or belief.

Resolute in a sentence

• She remained resolute despite repeated setbacks at work.

• The board was resolute in its decision to close the older branch.

Where does resolute come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin resolutus, the past participle of the verb resolvere, which literally meant 'to loosen', 'to untie', or 'to release'. That verb was built from the prefix re-, used here as an intensifier, and solvere, meaning 'to loosen' or 'to free', the same root that gives us 'solve', 'solution', and 'dissolve'. Over time the past participle drifted from the physical idea of something being unbound to the mental idea of a matter being settled or a person being firmly decided. English took the word in during the late 1300s and 1400s, where it came to describe a person of fixed, unshakeable purpose. The shared ancestry with 'solve' is a useful spelling cue: the middle is solut, with a single l and a single s, not the doubled letters writers sometimes expect.

How the word is built

• re- (intensive/again)
• solut- (from solvere: to loosen, release)
• -ute (adjective ending)