Indecisive vs. Indefinite vs. Indeterminate
How to use "indecisive," "indefinite," and "indeterminate" correctlyThis is an entry on my list of Common Errors in English Usage. Visit the main page for direct links to additional entries.
The word indecisive should only be used to suggest difficulty making up one’s mind; therefore, it should only be used to describe a person (or something else with a mind):
indecisive leader continually vacillated between going forward with the project and canceling it
Indefinite and indeterminate are similar in usage and can both mean “vague; not precisely determined”:
delayed for an indecisive period of time
delayed for an indefinite period of time
of an indeterminate age, appearing both young and old simultaneously
Indeterminate can also mean “not known in advance”:
complex project involving many indeterminate costs
Related Resources
Common Errors in English Usage: Errors in diction and idiom commonly made by native speakers of English
List of Common Errors in English Usage (PDF): Printable version of the complete list
Common Grammar Errors: A list of common errors in grammar (topics like subject-verb agreement and parallelism) as distinct from usage
List of Common Errors in English Usage: PDF version
© 2006, 2008, and 2019 C. Brantley Collins, Jr.