conclude

The verb conclude means two related things: coming to a decision, and bringing to a close.

Conclude is related to the word close, which is related to an old Latin word for "barrier" or "bolt" — the kind you put on a door. When you conclude something, it's as though you're pulling a door shut and bolting it. If your girlfriend concludes an argument by leaving the room and slamming the door, you can conclude that she's angry at you.

Definitions of conclude
  1. verb
    bring to a close
    “The committee concluded the meeting”
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    types:
    perorate
    conclude a speech with a formal recapitulation
    type of:
    end, terminate
    bring to an end or halt
  2. verb
    come to a close
    synonyms: close
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    type of:
    cease, end, finish, stop, terminate
    have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical
  3. verb
    decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion
    synonyms: reason, reason out
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    types:
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    induce
    reason or establish by induction
    deduce, deduct, derive, infer
    reason by deduction; establish by deduction
    syllogise, syllogize
    reason by syllogisms
    feel, find
    come to believe on the basis of emotion, intuitions, or indefinite grounds
    deduce, infer
    conclude by reasoning; in logic
    gather
    conclude from evidence
    extrapolate, generalise, generalize, infer
    draw from specific cases for more general cases
    extrapolate
    gain knowledge of (an area not known or experienced) by extrapolating
    surmise
    infer from incomplete evidence
    elicit
    derive by reason
    overgeneralise, overgeneralize
    draw too general a conclusion
    universalise, universalize
    make universal
    type of:
    cerebrate, cogitate, think
    use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments
  4. verb
    reach a conclusion after a discussion or deliberation
    synonyms: resolve
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    types:
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    determine, settle, square off, square up
    settle conclusively; come to terms
    clear, solve
    settle, as of a debt
    concert
    settle by agreement
    clinch
    settle conclusively
    compromise
    settle by concession
    type of:
    agree, concord, concur, hold
    be in accord; be in agreement
  5. verb
    reach agreement on
    “They concluded an economic agreement”
    “We concluded a cease-fire”
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    type of:
    agree
    achieve harmony of opinion, feeling, or purpose
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