determines
v. B2 Upper Intermediate US //dəˈtɝmənz// UK //dɪtˈɜːmɪnz// de·ter·mines
v. to control or decide exactly what happens. You use this when one thing causes another thing to be a certain way.
v. to establish or decide something definitively; to be the decisive factor in an outcome. Transitive — requires a direct object.
Hard work often determines your success in life.
The size of your budget determines which marketing strategies the team can realistically pursue this year.
While genetic factors provide a biological blueprint, the environment in which an individual is raised often determines how those traits are expressed throughout their adult life.
Usage
The verb is transitive and takes a direct object; it is frequently used in the third-person singular ('determines') to describe causal relationships.