as in determination
firm or unwavering adherence to one's purpose
moved with speed and decisiveness in investigating the charges of the use of excessive force by the police
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Recent Examples of decisiveness
Adam Wharton, 22, is liked by people at United for his progressive passing and decisiveness on the ball.
—
Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Apple gets a new CEO who is expected to bring back Jobs-era decisiveness.
—Menaka Doshi, Bloomberg, 21 Apr. 2026
After all, confidence and decisiveness are hallmark traits of executive presence, a quality long sought by boards, taught at top business schools, and used at performance review time as a catch-all descriptor to either promote or shelve C-suite hopefuls.
—Harvard Business Review, 1 Apr. 2026
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, and the head of Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, have been models of clarity, calm, and decisiveness.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Beyond his onstage excellence, Grady runs our props department with remarkable effectiveness and decisiveness.
—Heide Janssen, Oc Register, 15 Mar. 2026
The challenge is balancing decisiveness with collaboration, and speed with thoughtful input.
—Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2026
Your decisiveness invites others to join you.
—Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Feb. 2026
Quiet leaders know when restraint will serve the moment and when decisiveness is necessary.
—Cheryl Robinson, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Apple gets a new CEO who is expected to bring back Jobs-era decisiveness.
—Menaka Doshi, Bloomberg, 21 Apr. 2026
After all, confidence and decisiveness are hallmark traits of executive presence, a quality long sought by boards, taught at top business schools, and used at performance review time as a catch-all descriptor to either promote or shelve C-suite hopefuls.
—Harvard Business Review, 1 Apr. 2026
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, and the head of Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, have been models of clarity, calm, and decisiveness.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Beyond his onstage excellence, Grady runs our props department with remarkable effectiveness and decisiveness.
—Heide Janssen, Oc Register, 15 Mar. 2026
The challenge is balancing decisiveness with collaboration, and speed with thoughtful input.
—Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2026
Your decisiveness invites others to join you.
—Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Feb. 2026
Quiet leaders know when restraint will serve the moment and when decisiveness is necessary.
—Cheryl Robinson, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decisiveness
Noun
-
But part of the reason is that even with our most precise and accurate measurements that lead to a determination of the gravitational constant, those various teams and methods haven’t converged on a single answer.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
6 May 2026
-
Dean was born in a small town in South Dakota, educated in a one-room schoolhouse, and through grit and determination built a small garbage business into Waste Management — a global company serving multiple continents with over $9 billion in revenue by his retirement.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
Noun
-
While Saudi Arabia and OPEC had no immediate reaction, Emirati Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei insisted his country’s decision did not stem from any dispute with its Gulf neighbor.—
Jon Gambrell,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
-
This is basically every aerophobic flier’s worst nightmare, and Harlin does a solid job of maintaining the fear factor and shock right up to the moment of Rich’s decision to dump fuel and ditch, since the nearest airport, Guam, is out of range.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Because of my resolve on this, unlike that of our current House leadership, this campaign is also endorsed by Courage for Democracy.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
-
But a patient pugilist values the muffled thud of shots to the resolve.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
5 May 2026
Noun
-
His persistence in teaching, even under Lomax’s punitive schedules, shows his resilience.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 May 2026
-
Four years after graduating from college, my persistence, patience, and a bit of luck paid off.—
Andy Strasberg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
His loving, pragmatic wife, Mi-ri (Son Ye-jin), gamely downsizes their middle-class life to fit their new reality — but her resoluteness only exacerbates his despair.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Decisiveness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decisiveness. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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