overdetermination.

1. A situation in which several causes would each suffice to produce an outcome.

2. A condition in which a system has more independent constraints than unknowns.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• causal overdetermination
• overdetermination of an outcome

On the page

Overdetermination complicates the search for a single decisive cause.

Usage notes

Primary category: analysis / argumentation / evidence. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural in this sense. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: argumentation, evidence, inference. Commonness: uncommon.