Resolve vs solve

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Grammarist

Resolve may be used as a noun to describe a firm intention. Resolve may be used as a verb to mean (1) to decide a course of action as an individual or in an assembly by formal vote (2) to break into separate elements and analyze (3) to bring to a conclusion, not necessarily a popular or successful conclusion (4) to find a solution to a problem or mystery. Related words are the noun resolvability and the adjective resolvable.

Solve is a verb which means to find a solution to a problem or mystery. Solve and resolve may be used interchangeably when describing finding a logical, correct and successful solution to a problem or mystery. Related words are the noun solver and the adjective solvable.

Examples

Roughly 60 church members and supporters showed up Sunday in a display of resolve. (The Charlotte Observer)

First and foremost we are entering the presidential playoffs that will go on and on for another year, plus so I hereby resolve to give the silliness the attention it deserves, none.  (The Herald)

Our teams visit the families, inform them about eye and organ donation and encourage them to make a resolve for posthumous eye donation after satisfying all their misunderstandings. (The Times of India)

A month and a half before the scheduled start of this year’s desert festival, organizers of the annual Burning Man in Northern Nevada have yet to resolve more than 15 health and safety issues stemming from last year’s event, according to the Bureau of Land Management. (The Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The discovery solves the mystery of which Victorian writers were commissioned by Dickens and identifies new works by many leading authors of the time. (The Independent)

Motherhood is not a problem we need to solve; it is a reality that we need to acknowledge.  (The Guardian)