undecidedadj.n.
/ˌʌndᵻˈsʌɪdᵻd/, U.S. /ˌəndəˈsaɪdᵻd/, /ˌəndiˈsaɪdᵻd/ A. adj.
1.
a. Not decided; unsettled; uncertain.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > insecure knowledge, uncertainty > questionable state or quality > [adjective] > undecided, unsettled
openlOE
undiscussedc1340
unassoiled1387
undetermined1442
unruled1456
unabsoiled1521
undecised1528
undecided1540
unresolved1565
suspensive1575
unprejudged1641
unaccorded1645
indeterminate1656
unagreed1661
unabsolved1721
undeterminate1767
unsettled1844
meedless1896
1540 in J. D. Marwick Charters Edinb. (1871) 212 The pley beand..as yet ondecidit, na innovatioun suld be maid.
1588 W. Lambarde Eirenarcha (new ed.) iii. i. 330 I find it both doubted and undecided.
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. i. xxvi. 89 Glory..forbids-vs to leaue any thing vnresolued or vndecided.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan i. xv. 78 For else the question is undecided, and left to force.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 126 A cast of scatter'd Dust will..undecided leave the Fortune of the day. View more context for this quotation
1731 A. Bower Historia Litteraria 3 762 Finding, that notwithstanding the great pains he had taken, many Controversies remained still undecided.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia I. ii. vi. 269 If any thing is yet undecided, it will not, perhaps, be amiss that I should be consulted.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 671 It appears to us that this point still remains in a very undecided state.
1853 J. Ruskin Stones of Venice II. vi. 217 This is not an unimportant distinction, nor an undecided one.
b. Lacking in decision or definiteness.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > [adjective]
orrathc1175
unsicker?c1225
doubtousc1374
doubtive1393
unsurec1412
uncertained1470
doubtful1509
unassured1528
scriple?a1534
unpersuadeda1535
uncertainc1540
scrupulous1559
unsatisfied1575
unresolved1587
incertaina1616
dubious1632
scrupling1641
hesitant1647
insecure1649
hesitatious1657
uncleara1658
groping1691
doubting1715
dubitative1728
gingerish1764
vague1806
duberous1818
dubitant1821
undecided1828
inconclusive1836
foreheadless1844
titubant1880
convictionless1882
swithering1917
1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham III. vii. 114 To engage a certain, rather than a doubtful and undecided support.
1864 G. O. Trevelyan Competition Wallah xi. 378 To have..an undecided opinion on the question of Eternal Punishment.
c. Coursing. Not decided between the competing dogs; indecisive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > [adjective] > undecided course
undecided1839
1839 in Youatt Dog (1845) 261 In running a match the judge may declare the course to be undecided.
1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports 206, etc.
2. Irresolute, hesitating.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > [adjective]
twiredec888
orrathc1175
twofoldc1175
twifoldc1200
waveringc1315
uncertain1382
suspensec1440
mammeringa1450
flowing?1504
floghtering1521
vacillant1521
in a mammering1532
double-minded1552
unstaid1561
unresolute1570
unresolved?1571
staggeringa1577
frittle1579
irresolute1579
cheverel1583
off and on1583
halting1585
unsettleda1593
unresolving1599
demurring1607
waving1611
suspensive1614
hoveringa1616
startling1619
irresolved1621
hesitating1622
indetermined1628
variousa1643
branling1645
hesitant1647
non-sincere1656
hesitatious1657
humdrum1660
shuttlecock1660
yea-and-nay1672
swaying1688
interpendent1708
undetermined1718
Squadronec1720
hesitatorya1734
volanta1734
shilly-shally1734
dilly-dally1749
niffy-naffy1765
wiggle-waggle1778
undecided1779
undecisive1780
indecisive1787
conflicted1789
hesitative1795
undeciding1802
vacillating1814
yea-nay1827
demurrant1836
willy-nilly1839
shilly-shallying1842
oscillative1852
Hamletish1854
vacillatory1854
dilly-dallying1879
thistledown1897
weak-principled1913
not-quite1920
off-again on-again1923
dithery1931
havering1975
1779 Mirror No. 66 He knows..that the undecided mind, without choice or active sense of propriety, is equally accessible to the next [feelings] that occur.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. i. 242 So doubted he, and undecided yet Stood drawing forth his faulchion huge.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xi. 71 The man..stood beside the chasm manifestly undecided as to whether he should take the step.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 173 When action above all things is required he is undecided.
B. n.
1. Coursing. An indecisive course.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > [noun] > coursing > indecisive course
undecided1876
1876 Coursing Cal. 5 Miss Steel and No More ran a short undecided.
1876 Coursing Cal. 222 We did not make the anticipated headway, only getting thirty courses, including the two undecideds.
2. An undecided person, one who has not made up his mind.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > [noun] > one who doubts
doubtful1589
doubter1603
sceptica1618
ducker1620
miscreant1660
hummer1820
dubitant1821
don't know1839
hesitater1853
persuadend1865
don't knowist1908
undecided1968
1968 Listener 31 Oct. 568/2 Who can decide what an undecided is going to do?
1974 Times 7 Oct. 4/4 The Labour Party is picking up more support from the undecideds than any other party.
Derivatives
undeˈcidedly adv.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > [adverb]
doubtouslyc1350
incertainly1530
doubtinglya1535
unsurely1595
falteringly1611
uncertainly1613
dubitatively1615
with a grain of salt1647
doubtily1654
hesitantly1660
unsatisfiedly1661
doubtfully1664
Pyrrhonically1710
uncertaina1718
dubitatingly1827
undecidedly1856
1847 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. ]
1856 F. L. Olmsted Journey Slave States 19 They seem to move very awkwardly, slowly, and undecidedly.
1885 Sir J. F. Stephen in Law Q. Rev. Jan. 8 Their language hovers undecidedly between two meanings.
Draft additions 1993
undeˈcidedness n. the quality or state of being undecided.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > insecure knowledge, uncertainty > [noun] > unclear condition
obscurity1474
mist1532
cloud-lighta1536
indeterminateness1644
undistinction1647
indeterminacy1649
indistinction1651
undeterminateness1653
inestimability1678
undefinableness?1705
confusion1729
obnubilation1753
cloudiness1779
indistinctness1783
haze1790
haziness1796
vagueness1799
nebulosity1809
undefinednessa1832
undecidedness1897
indeterminism1928
fuzziness1973
smog1976
1897 N.E.D. at Doubtsb.1 The (subjective) state of uncertainty..; undecidedness of belief or opinion.
1987 Legal Times 21 Sept. 9/2 Heflin himself joined in the punditry, offering an opinion on the undecidedness of his colleague.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1540