Resolved

How to spell resolved

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce resolved

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does resolved mean?

1. verbFound a solution to a problem or settled a dispute (past tense of resolve).
2. adjectiveFirmly determined and fixed in purpose.

Resolved in a sentence

• verb

  The billing error was resolved after a single phone call.

• adjective

  She was resolved to pay off the mortgage before retiring.

• verb

  The two departments finally resolved their long-running disagreement.

• adjective

  Despite the early losses, the manager stayed calm and resolved.

Where does resolved come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb resolvere, which combined the intensifying prefix re- with solvere, meaning 'to loosen, untie, or release'. The literal sense was therefore 'to loosen completely' or 'to break apart into pieces', and you can still see that physical idea in the related words 'dissolve' and 'solvent'. English took the verb in through Old French during the late 1300s, and the meaning gradually shifted from physically loosening to mentally settling: untangling a difficulty came to mean solving it, and making up one's mind firmly came to mean being determined. The form 'resolved' is the past tense and past participle, and it also works as an adjective for a person of fixed purpose. The single 's' (not a double) and the 'v' before the 'ed' are the small spots where writers occasionally hesitate, since the root solvere is what keeps that 'v' in place.

How the word is built

• re- (intensive, fully)
• solv (from Latin solvere: to loosen, release)
• -ed (past tense / participle)