as in acidic
very clear and direct
She provided an incisive analysis that changed my entire opinion on the issue.
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of incisive
Noah Baumbach’s painfully incisive portrait of a family divorce among a remarkably prickly family of Brooklyn intellectuals finds so many ways to showcase its characters’ most brittle sides.
—
Joe Reid, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
Through Angela, Fauset crafts an incisive exploration of racial performance, autonomy, and the often punitive structures of desire.
—Glory Edim
august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
The decisive moment came in the 50th minute, as Son narrowly fired wide of Turner’s right post after an incisive run straight at New England’s back line.
—Julian Cardillo, Boston Herald, 17 Aug. 2025
The commercial realities of hosting a network television show seem to preclude the biting and incisive commentary, and boundary-pushing humor, for which audiences have turned to YouTube and podcasts.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incisive
Joe Reid, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
Through Angela, Fauset crafts an incisive exploration of racial performance, autonomy, and the often punitive structures of desire.
—Glory Edim
august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
The decisive moment came in the 50th minute, as Son narrowly fired wide of Turner’s right post after an incisive run straight at New England’s back line.
—Julian Cardillo, Boston Herald, 17 Aug. 2025
The commercial realities of hosting a network television show seem to preclude the biting and incisive commentary, and boundary-pushing humor, for which audiences have turned to YouTube and podcasts.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incisive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incisive
Adjective
-
Use fertile, moist, slightly acidic soil that’s well-draining, and amend it with compost or other organic matter.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Never use any acidic material on copper sinks.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This touchscreen pod machine has a lot to offer, including rich, balanced, coffee; a whopping eight brewing sizes; one-touch presets for low-acid, Americano, iced coffee, and cold brew; plus customizable temperature control and brew strength.—
Mark Marino,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
29 Aug. 2025
-
How does the new silver extraction method work The technology, known as Jet Electrochemical Silver Extraction (JESE), uses a fine stream of weak acid to dissolve silver directly from the panel surface in seconds—the acid stream targets only the silver, leaving everything else untouched.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Will those same places later serve as ironic backdrops for bloody shootouts?—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
9 Sep. 2025
-
The line is calculated to appeal to a clientele of women rather like Freud herself—bohemian, elegant, subtle, ironical.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
McVey, 28, has reaped a personal bonus from the concise coaching: he’s been freed up to develop his game by not having to direct traffic as much.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Then draft a concise, personalized cover letter highlighting my strongest fit points.—
Caroline Castrillon,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Hawke, for his part, can take some in finally giving a hero such a heartfelt, trenchant and long-overdue screen immortalization.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
30 Aug. 2025
-
Both the author and the narrator succeed notably in this funny, trenchant debut novel.—
AudioFile Magazine
August 29,
Literary Hub,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
One of the most poignant choices is to intercut scratchy film of the train that in 1921 transported the Unknown Soldier to Rome in a coffin draped with patriotic banners and flowers, to be enshrined in the Altar of the Fatherland with an eternal flame at the Vittorio Emanuele II monument.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Pitted against the unforgettably evil Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), a sadist who drugs and abuses the unlucky patients in her care, McMurphy’s stand against the oppressive powers that be is tragic and poignant and spoke to the spirit of a time in which so many felt misunderstood.—
Christina Newland,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Where the strain required for a tenor to hit that upper register lends these verses an acerbic, explosive edge, a countertenor can approach the same lines with lamblike lyricism, as Mobley did.—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Aug. 2025
-
That movie was an acerbic portrait of a friendship gone sour, laced with barbed insults.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Dockery remembers Smith’s wit and sardonic humor on set—and her own Dowagerisms—fondly.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Meanwhile, the sardonic and calculating Dennis (Sweeney), who, based on a pre-accident romantic encounter with Rocky, seems to have a twink fetish, ingratiates himself into Roman’s life with a master plan.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Incisive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incisive. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share