incisive
adjective
Did you know?
Incisive has meant "impressively direct and decisive" since around 1834 and derives from the Latin verb caedere, meaning "to cut." Its linguistic kin include many cuttings from the fruitful stem caedere, such as scissors, chisel, incise ("to cut into or engrave"), excise ("to remove by cutting"), incisor ("a front tooth typically adapted for cutting"), incision ("cut" or "gash"), precise ("minutely exact"), and concise ("brief"). Incisive also carries a couple of lesser-known literal meanings relating to cutting: "having a cutting edge or piercing point" (as in "incisive fangs"), and, in dentistry, "of, relating to, or situated near the incisors."
Examples of incisive in a Sentence
Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 6 Oct. 2024
Without him — and without Deebo Samuel in the backfield — the Niners’ playcalling is bland and anything but incisive.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 29 Sep. 2024
Her incisive read on identity, place and culture are certain to resonate with particularly deep conviction just 13 days after the presidential election.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2024
Moreover, Diop films the practicalities of the repatriation with incisive imagination.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for incisive 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incisive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to incisive
Dictionary Entries Near incisive
Cite this Entry
“Incisive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incisive. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incisive
adjective
Medical Definition
incisive
adjective
Share