Adjacent Words

Final definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FI'NAL, a. [L. finalis. See fine.]
1. Pertaining to the end or conclusion; last ultimate; as the final issue or event of things; final hope; final salvation.
2. Conclusive; decisive; ultimate; as a final judgment. The battle of Waterloo was final to the power of Buonaparte; it brought the contest to a final issue.
3. Respecting the end or object to be gained; respecting the purpose or ultimate end in view. The efficient cause is that which produces the event or effect; the final cause is that for which any thing is done.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: occurring at or forming an end or termination; "his concluding words came as a surprise"; "the final chapter"; "the last days of the dinosaurs"; "terminal leave" [syn: concluding, final, last, terminal]
2: conclusive in a process or progression; "the final answer"; "a last resort"; "the net result" [syn: final, last, net]
3: not to be altered or undone; "the judge's decision is final"; "the arbiter will have the last say" [syn: final, last] n
1: the final match between the winners of all previous matches in an elimination tournament
2: an examination administered at the end of an academic term [syn: final examination, final exam, final]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin finalis, from finis boundary, end Date: 14th century 1. a. not to be altered or undone <all sales are final> b. of or relating to a concluding court action or proceeding <final decree> 2. coming at the end ; being the last in a series, process, or progress <the final chapter> 3. of or relating to the ultimate purpose or result of a process <our final goal> Synonyms: see last • finally adverb II. noun Date: 1609 something that is final: as a. a deciding match, game, heat, or trial — usually used in plural b. the last examination in a course — often used in plural

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 situated at the end, coming last. 2 conclusive, decisive, unalterable, putting an end to doubt. 3 concerned with the purpose or end aimed at. --n. 1 the last or deciding heat or game in sports or in a competition (Cup Final). 2 the edition of a newspaper published latest in the day. 3 (usu. in pl.) the series of examinations at the end of a degree course. 4 Mus. the principal note in any mode. Phrases and idioms: final cause Philos. the end towards which a thing naturally develops or at which an action aims. final clause Gram. a clause expressing purpose, introduced by in order that, lest, etc. final drive the last part of the transmission system in a motor vehicle. final solution the Nazi policy (1941-5) of exterminating European Jews. Derivatives: finally adv. Etymology: ME f. OF or f. L finalis f. finis end

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Final Fi"nal, a. [F., fr. L. finalis, fr. finis boundary, limit, end. See Finish.] 1. Pertaining to the end or conclusion; last; terminating; ultimate; as, the final day of a school term. Yet despair not of his final pardon. --Milton. 2. Conclusive; decisive; as, a final judgment; the battle of Waterloo brought the contest to a final issue. 3. Respecting an end or object to be gained; respecting the purpose or ultimate end in view. Final cause. See under Cause. Syn: Final, Conclusive, Ultimate. Usage: Final is now appropriated to that which brings with it an end; as, a final adjustment; the final judgment, etc. Conclusive implies the closing of all discussion, negotiation, etc.; as, a conclusive argument or fact; a conclusive arrangement. In using ultimate, we have always reference to something earlier or proceeding; as when we say, a temporary reverse may lead to an ultimate triumph. The statements which a man finally makes at the close of a negotiation are usually conclusive as to his ultimate intentions and designs.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(finals) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. In a series of events, things, or people, the final one is the last one. Astronauts will make a final attempt today to rescue a communications satellite from its useless orbit... This is the fifth and probably final day of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee... On the last Saturday in September, I received a final letter from Clive. = last ADJ: det ADJ 2. Final means happening at the end of an event or series of events. The countdown to the Notting Hill Carnival is in its final hours. ADJ: ADJ n 3. If a decision or someone's authority is final, it cannot be changed or questioned. The judges' decision is final... The White House has the final say... ADJ 4. The final is the last game or contest in a series and decides who is the winner. ...the Scottish Cup Final... N-COUNT see also quarter-final, semi-final 5. The finals of a sporting tournament consist of a smaller tournament that includes only players or teams that have won earlier games. The finals decide the winner of the whole tournament. Poland know they have a chance of qualifying for the World Cup Finals. N-PLURAL 6. When a student takes his or her finals, he or she takes the last and most important examinations in a university or college course. Anna sat her finals in the summer. N-PLURAL: oft poss N

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Last, latest, ultimate, eventual. 2. Decisive, conclusive, definitive.

Moby Thesaurus

absolute, adducible, admissible, admitting no exception, all-out, attestative, attestive, audition, authentic, based on, binding, blue book, boundary, categorical, caudal, certain, circumstantial, clear, closing, collateral, coming, complete, completing, completive, completory, compulsory, concluding, conclusive, consequent, consequential, consummative, contingent, convincing, crowning, culminating, cumulative, damning, decided, decisive, decretory, definite, definitive, departing, derivational, derivative, determinate, determinative, dictated, documentary, documented, downright, end, ending, endmost, ensuing, entailed, entire, eventual, evidential, evidentiary, ex parte, exam, examen, examination, explicit, express, extreme, eye-witness, factual, farewell, farthest, final examination, finalizing, finishing, firsthand, fixed, flat, flat-out, following, founded on, fulfilling, global, great go, grounded on, hard-and-fast, hearing, hearsay, hindmost, honors, immutable, imperative, implicit, imposed, inappealable, incontrovertible, indicative, indirect, indisputable, irrefutable, irresistible, irreversible, irrevocable, lag, last, latest, latter, leaving, limiting, mandated, mandatory, material, midsemester, midterm, must, nuncupative, obligatory, oral, oral examination, out-and-out, outright, outward-bound, overwhelming, parting, peremptory, perfect, polar, positive, prelim, prescript, prescriptive, presumptive, probative, quiz, reliable, required, resultant, resulting, round, secondary, sequacious, sequent, sequential, settled, significant, straight, straight-out, suggestive, sure, symptomatic, tail, take-home examination, telling, terminal, terminating, terminative, test, total, trial, tripos, ultimate, unalterable, unanswerable, unchangeable, uncircumscribed, unconditional, unconditioned, undoubting, unequivocal, unhampered, unhesitating, unlimited, unmistakable, unmitigated, unqualified, unquestioning, unreserved, unrestricted, unwaivable, utter, valedictory, valid, viva, weighty, whole, without appeal, without exception, without reserve, written, written examination