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If something is indeterminate, you cannot know it definitely or exactly, because it is not clearly fixed.
If something is indeterminate如果某個東西是indeterminate(不確定的) you cannot know it definitely or exactly你就無法確切或準確地知道它 because it is not clearly fixed因為它沒有被明確固定下來
An indeterminate number of people showed up — you do not know how many, and maybe there is no exact count. An indeterminate colour sits between two colours.
An indeterminate number of people showed up出現的人數是indeterminate(不確定)的 you do not know how many你不知道有多少人 and maybe there is no exact count而且可能根本沒有確切的數字 An indeterminate colour一個indeterminate(不明確)的顏色 sits between two colours介於兩種顏色之間
The everyday core is “not clearly decided and not clearly known.” It is a formal adjective.
The everyday core is “not clearly decided and not clearly known.”日常核心意思就是「沒有明確決定、也不清楚」 It is a formal adjective這是一個正式的形容詞
Extra uses are real, not trivia: in law, an indeterminate sentence has no fixed end date. In maths, an indeterminate form (like 0/0) is not yet a number. talk about indeterminate tomatoes — plants that keep growing and making fruit instead of stopping at a set size.
Extra uses are real, not trivia額外的用法是真實存在的,不是無關緊要的小知識 in law在法律上 an indeterminate sentence一個indeterminate sentence(不定期刑) has no fixed end date沒有固定的刑期終點 In maths在數學上 an indeterminate form (like 0/0)一個indeterminate form(不定式,像0/0) is not yet a number還不是一個數字 Gardeners園丁 talk about indeterminate tomatoes會談到indeterminate tomatoes(無限生長型番茄) plants that keep growing and making fruit instead of stopping at a set size也就是會一直生長結果、不會長到固定大小就停下來的植株
Though actually, do not use it for a person who has not chosen yet; that person is undecided. Indeterminate is for the result, the amount, the category, or the rule — the thing that has no sharp edge.
Though actually不過其實 do not use it for a person who has not chosen yet不要用它來形容一個還沒做決定的人 that person is undecided那個人應該說是undecided(尚未決定) Indeterminate is for the result, the amount, the category, or the ruleindeterminate是用在結果、數量、類別或規則上 the thing that has no sharp edge也就是那些沒有明確界線的東西
Close to , but indeterminate describes the thing; describes the failure to calculate it.
Close to indeterminable這個字跟indeterminable(無法判定的)很接近 but indeterminate describes the thing不過indeterminate形容的是那個東西本身 indeterminable describes the failure to calculate it而indeterminable形容的是無法計算出它
組成in- (not) + determinate (fixed, clearly decided). The idea is “not fixed.”
同家族的字
- determinethe verb: to find out or to decide
- determinationshares the “decide / fix” root — not the “strong will” meaning of determination
- indeterminacythe noun: the state of not being fixed
- indeterminableshares the same root; that one means you cannot work the answer out
原始詞典資料9 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
indeterminateadj/ɪndɪˈtɜː(ɹ)mɪnət/
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Not accurately determined or determinable.
- Four miles to the east of Warmington, the River Cherwell flows into Cropredy under a bridge that in 1644 was the scene of another Civil War battle - with an equally indeterminate result.
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Imprecise or vague.
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mathematical-analysismathematicssciencesNot definitively or precisely determined, because of the presence of infinity or zero symbols used in any of several improper combinations.
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biologynatural-sciencesWith no genetically defined end, and thus theoretically limitless.
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biologybotanynatural-sciencesNot topped with some form of terminal bud.
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Intersex.
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architectureDesigned to allow the incorporation of future changes whose nature is not yet known.
- It bears an affinity to the problem of indeterminate architecture—the indeterminate residential area.
indeterminatenoun/ɪndɪˈtɜː(ɹ)mɪnət/
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algebramathematicssciencesA symbol that resembles a variable or parameter but is used purely formally and neither signifies nor is ever assigned a particular value;
- 1862, H. J. Stephen Smith, Report on the Theory of Numbers—Part III, Report of the 31st Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, British Association for the Advancement of Science, page 292, The form is linear, quadratic, cubic, biquadratic or quartic, quintic, &c., according to its order in respect of the indeterminates it contains; and binary, ternary, quaternary, &c., according to the number of its indeterminates. Thus x²+y² is a binary quadratic form, x³+y³+z³-3xyz is a ternary cubic form.
- 1892, Henry B. Fine, Kronecker and His Arithmetical Theory of the Algebraic Equation, Thomas S. Fiske, Harold Jacoby (editors), Bulletin of the New York Mathematical Society, Volume 1, New York Mathematical Society, page 179, Such a factor is therefore an integral function of x and the indeterminates u_1,u_2,…u_n with coefficients belonging to the domain of rationality (R',R,..) and may be represented by g(x,u_1,u_2,..u_n).
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algebramathematicssciencesA symbol that resembles a variable or parameter but is used purely formally and neither signifies nor is ever assigned a particular value; (loose sense) a variable.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。