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to resolve

to resolve

6 8.0
To make separate parts of an image visible
  • verb
  • /rɪˈzɑlv/
  • Specialized
: resolver
  • The readouts remained fuzzy, but several resolved themselves into the same digits they'd held when he started.
  • a telescope resolves
  • resolve fine details
  • resolve individual stars

But I will not be able to resolve the moon from the Earth.

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Examples

  • Can I resolve the pixels on the phone?

  • And I can happily report that the XR Elite lived up to at least the ability to resolve text.

  • But I will not be able to resolve the moon from the Earth.

  • The sharp points can resolve individual molecules and even atoms, but not bonds.

  • Under exceptionally good conditions, this telescope was able to resolve star images 0.6 arc seconds wide.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Shortly, the approaching vehicle resolved into an orange Dodge Power Wagon of mid-sixties vintage.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Even the Hubble Space Telescope cannot resolve features much smaller than 0.1 arcseconds.

    Academic text (1997)
  • As he neared it, the obstruction resolved itself into an old trolley.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Vowel perception relies on spectral resolution to resolve the formant pattern that distinguishes between vowels.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The new microscope can resolve the tiniest details in the samples, making it easier for scientists to study them.

Antonyms

90 3.6

To make something hard to see or understand

84 7.0

Make something hard to see or understand

Phrasal Verbs

To find a fair way to end a disagreement between people

1 3.5

To fix conflicting changes in files so they can be combined into one version

Compounds

A strong determination not to give up when things are hard

A very firm decision to keep trying

How Distinct

to sharpen
23 3.1
to resolve
  • Specialized
6 8.0
to distinguish
147 3.1
to define
14 1.0
to soften
98 3.1
to blur
90 3.6

Surface Forms

resolve infinitive
resolved past
resolved past participle
resolving present participle
resolves third person singular

Morphology

resolve = solve (opaque) = re + solve

The optical/technical sense 'to make parts distinguishable' does not follow transparently from 're-' + 'solve' for typical learners and is a specialized usage.

Etymology

Resolve (to make parts visible) comes from the Latin root solvere ('to loosen' or 'to separate') and is related to resolution, the word you know from screens and images. So to resolve an image or view is to 'separate' its parts and make them clear.