Both Uses of
definitive
in
Unbroken, by Hillenbrand
- The figures above, compiled by Charles Stenger, PhD, in a comprehensive study of POW statistics for the Veterans Administration, appear to be definitive.†
p. 315.9 *
- The detectives couldn't rule out Watanabe as the dead man, but they couldn't confirm definitively that it was he.†
p. 368.9
Definitions:
-
(1)
(definitive) best possible, final, or definite (beyond question)
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much less commonly, definitive can describe something that defines or distinguishes a category, as in "The definitive characteristic of news is newness," or "Is there a single trait that is definitive of addictive personality disorder?"
Even more rarely, definitive can refer to a standard postage stamp. See a comprehensive dictionary for specializes senses in biology and grammar.