Resolutions

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A firm decision to do or not do something, typically made at the start of a new year
2. A promise or commitment toward personal improvement or change
3. The process of resolving or settling a dispute, often leading to a conclusion or agreement

Etymology: "Resolutions" is the plural of "resolution," and the noun's core idea is a loosening. Its ancestor is Latin "resolvere," built from the intensive prefix "re-" and "solvere," meaning "to loosen." The sense of undoing or dissolving carried over into English first: the earliest recorded uses, from the early 1400s, meant a dissolution or breaking apart, not a decision. Over the centuries the meaning travelled in several directions. Something that is "resolved" in the sense of a problem being solved, a knot untied, or a substance dissolved, follows the same logic of loosening and clearing away. The sense of a firm, settled determination grew from the idea of a mind that has worked its way free of doubt, which is why a resolution can be made, passed or kept. The plural "resolutions" is the form most people meet today in the phrase "New Year's resolutions," where the word names the private vows people make to change their habits.

Synonyms: decisions, determinations, resolves, conclusions, solutions

Antonyms: indecisions, vacillations, doubts