was not defined vs is not defined

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Was not defined' is used when referring to something that was not defined in the past, while 'is not defined' is used when talking about something that is currently not defined.

Last updated: March 30, 2024 • 818 views

This phrase is correct when referring to something that was not defined in the past.

"was not defined"

Use 'was not defined' when talking about something that was not defined at a specific point in the past.

Examples:

The variable 'x' was not defined in the previous version of the code.

Show examples from the web [+]

Corridor VIII was not defined by the European Council of Essen.
The path for 'Local CD Database' was not defined
This concept of liability was not defined clearly enough in our legislation.
The benefit/ risk ratio was not defined fully in patients with 4 and more positive nodes at this analysis stage.
However, the term «batch» was not defined in the original FATF's INSR VII.
Patients with 4+ nodes The benefit/ risk ratio for TAC in patients with 4+ nodes was not defined fully at the interim analysis (see section 5.1).
In view of the lack of cooperation from the GOC, the scope of those entities which are considered "public bodies" was not defined to the full extent.
Investment firms shall determine the target market for the respective financial instrument, even if the target market was not defined by the manufacturer.
Regrets that the fight against cybercrime was not defined as one of the priorities of the Göteborg summit and that this point was only mentioned in the context of the EU-US summit;
The fact that the regional code for Gibraltar - which was not defined by us, but by the ITU - happens to be between those of Germany and Luxembourg has no political significance at all, but is the result of the numerical sequence of the table.
There is no formal EU Risk Assessment Report (RAR) as DCM was not defined by any of the stakeholders to be a priority substance despite concerns already being noted.

Alternatives:

had not been defined
was undefined
was not specified
was not declared
was not established

This phrase is correct when referring to something that is currently not defined.

"is not defined"

Use 'is not defined' when talking about something that is not defined at the present moment.

Examples:

The function 'calculateArea()' is not defined in this context.

Show examples from the web [+]

The APS driver is not defined.
For example, the principle of exceptional character of MFA is not defined but described.
The structure of most of this record is not defined by the original ANSI/NIST standard.
Science is not defined by the method section of a paper.
"Manager" is not defined and always an employee.
First, Internet pharmacies is not defined in an unambiguous manner.
The exceptional character is not defined in the ECOFIN conclusions.
Compassion is not defined in one form.
Namespace prefix of qualified name %1 is not defined.
The urgency is not defined by law but assessed by the health practitioner consulted.
The term 'fitness of animals for transport' is not defined in the current directive, so that it is rather ill-defined in practice.
As to the third claim, the product concerned is not defined by reference to its water content.
Beer is not defined in the Union legislation and the national definitions vary among the Member States.
The new concept of negligible risk is not defined and could lead to a variety of interpretations.
The term 'exit value' which is not defined in the directive, could create confusion and inappropriate implementation.
This wording would very likely give rise to legal arguments on the interpretation of the word 'technical', which is not defined in the legislation.
The kind of information which can be exchanged between the competent authorities upon request or spontaneously is not defined.
The sufficiently serious suspicion is used as an opening criterion for cases but is not defined anywhere in the Manual.
I would ask people to bear in mind that citizenship is not defined by the passport you hold.
Your friendly compiler just stopped, telling you that the class myClass mentioned in line 3902 in your source file is not defined.

Alternatives:

has not been defined
is undefined
is not specified
is not declared
is not established

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was not defined vs is not defined

"was not defined"

"is not defined"

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