Conclude

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kənˈkluːd/

Definitions

1. To reach a final decision, judgment, or opinion after considering the available information or evidence
2. To bring something to an end, often through a final decision, a concluding judgment, or a summarization of the information reviewed
3. To finalize an argument or discussion by arriving at a decision, reaching a summary, or forming an opinion based on assessed facts

Etymology: Latin "conclūdere" was built from "com-", meaning "together" or "thoroughly," and "claudere," meaning "to shut." Its original sense was literal: to shut something up, enclose it, or close it off. The Latin verb's meanings stretched from physically closing a space to bringing an argument or matter to a close, and that second sense is the one English took up. The word arrived in Middle English as "concluden," carrying both ideas at once. The English verb kept the Latin notion of shutting a process off. To conclude something is to close it, so that nothing more remains open. The same movement of thought gave the word its other familiar sense, reaching a judgment at the end of reasoning, since a line of argument is closed off when it arrives at its result.

Synonyms: finish, end, complete, close, summarize

Antonyms: begin, start