incisive
adjective
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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
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 Apr. 2026
Related Stories And Grace is an incisive writer.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 Apr. 2026
While David Raya is undoubtedly more incisive with his feet, there is still great risk in trying to clip the ball into midfield or out to the full-backs; should Arsenal lose it, there are four City players up the pitch waiting to counter quickly.
—Thom Harris, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Shappell is earnest and empathetic, but not as incisive and driven as the play really needs to maintain the requisite dramatic tension.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Incisive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incisive. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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incisive
adjective
Medical Definition
incisive
adjective
