# underdetermination

CEFR C2 · Noun

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/underdetermination
Updated: 2026-09-28

## Definition

a situation where the available clues are not enough to prove which of several competing explanations is the single correct one.

For teachers: the philosophical and epistemological condition wherein available empirical evidence is insufficient to uniquely determine or select among competing hypotheses.

## Examples

- The mystery suffered from underdetermination because three suspects had identical footprints.
- Inverse rendering problems in computer vision exhibit severe underdetermination, as many distinct 3D shapes can produce identical 2D shadows.
- The Duhem-Quine thesis demonstrates that scientific underdetermination requires learning algorithms to introduce inductive priors to break hypothesis symmetry.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.