as in determinative
providing or controlling a final outcome
The fact that she committed a crime is not dispositive of her claim that the police used excessive force in arresting her.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dispositive
These latest results are a bit more ambiguous but hardly dispositive.
—
Felix Salmon, Axios, 26 July 2024
Those who were waiting on the sidelines for the next game served as a jury, although their verdict wasn’t necessarily dispositive.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 13 June 2024
Even if ethical, should or must the professional adviser permit themselves to be used to carry out dispositive plans that will cause harm?
Not infrequently, parents have disinherited a child out of anger.
—Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
But under California law blood tests were not dispositive, and the case went to trial, where Chaplin was badly outlawyered.
—Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for dispositive 
Felix Salmon, Axios, 26 July 2024
Those who were waiting on the sidelines for the next game served as a jury, although their verdict wasn’t necessarily dispositive.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 13 June 2024
Even if ethical, should or must the professional adviser permit themselves to be used to carry out dispositive plans that will cause harm?
Not infrequently, parents have disinherited a child out of anger.
—Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
But under California law blood tests were not dispositive, and the case went to trial, where Chaplin was badly outlawyered.
—Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for dispositive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dispositive
Adjective
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Former manufacturing towns are unpredictable and could be the most determinative places in the state.—
Tribune News Service,
Boston Herald,
15 Oct. 2024
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Of course, the frequency of the interactions is not determinative: after all, white slaveholders in the United States constantly interacted with their black slaves.—
Graham K. Brown,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Mar. 2015
Adjective
-
An exclusive appointment with a sales associate is required to buy one of the bags, and an extensive purchase history with the brand is usually used as a determinate factor.—
Molly Davis,
The Tennessean,
15 Aug. 2024
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Perez was serving a determinate term for assault with a firearm and gang activity, authorities said.—
Nate Gartrell,
The Mercury News,
20 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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What the possibly dirty text messages involving Hutchinson might say or who sent them isn’t clear.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
24 Jan. 2025
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It's packed with skin-loving ingredients like glycolic acid to gently exfoliate, willow bark extract to keep pores clear, and green tea seed oil to nourish and soothe.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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This absence of alarm is not conclusive proof that democracy is safe forever, nor that Trump cannot damage American democracy at all.—
Victor Menaldo,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2025
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While no conclusive evidence connects the dye to cancer in humans, its potential risks have led to bans or severe restrictions in several countries, including the European Union, Australia and Japan.—
Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell,
Newsweek,
16 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near dispositive
Cite this Entry
“Dispositive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dispositive. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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