chosen

chosen — verb

1. The past participle form of the verb 'choose'. It is used after 'have', 'has', o

1.verbA2
Definition

The past participle form of the verb 'choose'. It is used after 'have', 'has', or 'had' to talk about decisions made earlier, and after 'be' or 'get' to show that someone or something was selected.

Example

Aiko has chosen a bright yellow colour for her bedroom walls.

perfect tense: have/has + chosen

The route chosen by the team led them straight to the waterfall.

passive: chosen by [person/group]

Common collocations
  • have chosen
  • had chosen
  • was chosen
  • been chosen

Grammar Patterns

have/has/had + chosen

be/get + chosen

Usage Note

Only used as a past participle — never as the base verb or the simple past. For simple past events, use 'chose' instead. Common in perfect tenses and passive constructions.

Common Mistakes

Yesterday I chosen a new book from the library.
Yesterday I chose a new book from the library.
'chosen' needs a helper verb like 'have' or 'was'; use 'chose' for simple past.
She has chose the blue curtains for the living room.
She has chosen the blue curtains for the living room.
after 'has', 'have', or 'had', always use 'chosen', not 'chose'.

chosen — adjective

chosen — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Selected is the most neutral term for someone or something chosen from a group; it suggests careful consideration but no special status beyond that. Picked is more informal and often implies personal preference rather than objective criteria — for instance, a coach might pick a player because she likes their attitude. Appointed suggests formal assignment to a role by an authority figure, usually with an official announcement. Elected specifically means chosen by voting, common in political and committee contexts. A chosen candidate, by contrast, carries a sense of being marked out for favour or privilege that others do not share. For example: 'the selected books will go on the top shelf' (neutral curation); 'she was appointed head of the committee' (official assignment); 'he was elected class president' (by vote); but 'the chosen speaker received a standing ovation' (implies the speaker was especially favoured or singled out).

selectedpickedappointedelected

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • carefully chosen
  • specially chosen
  • randomly chosen
  • deliberately chosen

Phrases

  • one of the chosen
  • the chosen few

Prepositions

  • chosen by
  • chosen for
  • chosen from
  • chosen among

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

Chosen comes from Old English 'coren', the original past participle of 'ceosan' (to choose). This root traces back through Proto-Germanic to the Proto-Indo-European stem *geus-, meaning 'to taste' or 'to choose' — the idea being that choosing involves sampling options before deciding. The modern form 'chosen' replaced the older 'coren' by the 1200s, following the pattern of other strong English verbs that gained an '-en' ending on the past participle.