incisive
adjective
Did you know?
An incisive person doesn’t hem and haw—they get straight to the point. The original meaning of incisive, from around 1600, was "having a cutting edge or piercing point"; the modern meaning of "impressively direct and decisive" has been part of English since the mid-1800s. Incisive is a close relative of incisor, which refers to a front tooth typically adapted for cutting, so it's no surprise that incisive has a specific meaning in dentistry, describing that which is of, relating to, or situated near the incisors. Both incisive and incisor come from the Latin verb caedere, meaning "to cut." English is rich in cuttings from the fruitful stem of caedere: some examples to sink your teeth into are scissors, chisel, incise ("to cut into or engrave"), excise ("to remove by cutting"), incision ("cut" or "gash"), precise ("minutely exact"), and concise ("brief").
Examples of incisive in a Sentence
Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 4 Dec. 2025
In the second half against Leeds, the tempo went through the floor and possession became passive rather than incisive.
—Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025
Tactically, the clash promises to be fascinating as Arsenal is likely to rely on quick transitions, disciplined defending, and set pieces, while Bayern will aim to dominate possession and use sharp, incisive attacks to punish even minor defensive lapses.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
And sometimes a single incisive perception will do.
—Christian Wiman, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incisive
Cite this Entry
“Incisive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incisive. Accessed 7 Dec. 2025.
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incisive
adjective
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incisive
adjective
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