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
But Pressure is less a war story, rapt with the hysteria of battlefield deeds, than an intense exposition on the human capacity to tolerate uncertainty at a time when decisiveness is an imperative for action.
—
Daniel Jonah Wolpert, NPR, 29 May 2026
The encounter is ostensibly intended to demonstrate the kind of ruthless decisiveness that Eisenhower would have needed in wartime.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 May 2026
What matters is not decisiveness alone, but the ability to interrogate outputs, challenge assumptions and apply judgment before flawed decisions scale across systems.
—Nirit Cohen, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
The club has also lost Jim Rutherford’s experience, executive decisiveness and relationships, with the former president withdrawing from the day to day and becoming an adviser.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 19 May 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
Daniel Jonah Wolpert, NPR, 29 May 2026
The encounter is ostensibly intended to demonstrate the kind of ruthless decisiveness that Eisenhower would have needed in wartime.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 May 2026
What matters is not decisiveness alone, but the ability to interrogate outputs, challenge assumptions and apply judgment before flawed decisions scale across systems.
—Nirit Cohen, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
The club has also lost Jim Rutherford’s experience, executive decisiveness and relationships, with the former president withdrawing from the day to day and becoming an adviser.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 19 May 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decisiveness
Noun
-
Frustrated at the lack of evidence and feeling the heat of the gutter press, their determination to hone in on their sole suspect would be laughable if not for the catastrophic consequences.—
Jon O'Brien,
IndieWire,
3 June 2026
-
Deborah’s determination to perform at Madison Square Garden takes the crew to New York City.—
Alexandra Jhamb Burns,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Whether the Browns made the right decision will ultimately be determined on the field.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2026
-
Warsh's personnel decisions will be closely scrutinized.—
Matt Peterson,
CNBC,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
When to See a Doctor For the vast majority of new parents, dry skin is a temporary, frustrating nuisance that resolves as your hormones stabilize and your body adjusts to its new rhythm.—
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal,
Parents,
28 May 2026
-
The March train breakdown strengthened the resolve of city officials to create an alternative people-moving system as soon as possible by repurposing the tunnel, Johnston said.—
Bruce Finley,
Denver Post,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
However, persistence becomes problematic when PFAS leach or evaporate out of products and into the surrounding environment.—
Carrie McDonough,
The Conversation,
29 May 2026
-
The movie is more than a celebration of persistence in the face of rejection, of faith in oneself, or of the power of love.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
29 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 5 Jun. 2026.
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