Meaning & use
determined person
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Meaning
nouncountable
Someone who continues trying to do something even when it is difficult, and does not give up easily.
Grammar: Countable: say a determined person or two determined people. The adjective determined comes before the noun.
Patterns
- a determined person who does something
- be a determined person
She is a determined person who never gives up, even when the work gets hard.
To finish a marathon, you need to be a determined person.
He is a determined person, so he kept practicing until he got the job.
Word forms
| plural | determined people |
|---|
Common combinations
- a very determined person
- She is a very determined person and will not stop until she succeeds.
- a highly determined person
- He is a highly determined person who always meets his goals.
- a determined person who never gives up
- My grandmother was a determined person who never gave up.
- be a determined person
- If you want to learn a language, you must be a determined person.
Synonyms and how they differ
- persistent
- Persistent emphasizes continuing despite opposition, while determined focuses on strong will and firmness of purpose.
- resolute
- Resolute is more formal and suggests a firm decision already made; determined is more general and common in everyday speech.
- tenacious
- Tenacious is stronger and often used for someone who holds on tightly to a goal; determined is less intense.
Opposites
Word family
- determination noun
- The quality of being determined; firmness of purpose.
- determine verb
- To decide or find out something firmly.
- determinedly adverb
- In a way that shows firmness of purpose.
Commonly confused: determined person or determinate?
determined person vs determinate
Determinate means fixed or definite, as in a determinate period; it does not describe a person's character.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'determined person' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase 'a determined person' is followed by a relative clause with 'who' or 'that'. Option 0 uses 'who never gives up' correctly. The other options are ungrammatical because they lack a relative pronoun or use the wrong preposition.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “determined person”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.