incisive
Americanadjective
adjective
-
keen, penetrating, or acute
-
biting or sarcastic; mordant
an incisive remark
-
having a sharp cutting edge
incisive teeth
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of incisive
From the Medieval Latin word incīsīvus, dating back to 1520–30. See incise, -ive
Explanation
The adjective incisive describes something that is sharp, decisive, and direct. A comment that cuts right to the bone can be just as incisive as an actual knife. The word incisive is rooted in a Latin word that literally means "to cut with a sharp edge." To help you remember the meaning, you can think of the similar word, incisors, which are the teeth that are sharp and cut and tear. The more figurative meaning of describing something that is mentally sharp first appeared in the 1850s. Keen criticism and cutting remarks have been called incisive ever since.
Vocabulary lists containing incisive
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Incisive and wise, it recognises that all those emotions can co-exist - something she states explicitly in the opening song, Both Things Are True.
From BBC • Oct. 6, 2024
Incisive and introspective as ever, Cara continues to position herself as both pop star and self-therapist.
From New York Times • Sep. 17, 2021
Danny Drinkwater: Incisive passing and tough tackling led to Drinkwater making his England debut last month.
From Washington Times • Apr. 28, 2016
Incisive as Kashua was about right-wingers, he was even more unsparing toward the left and its hypocrisies.
From The New Yorker • Sep. 7, 2015
Incisive as G. Eliot, and from the point of view of a tenderer mind and experience.
From Juliana Horatia Ewing And Her Books by Eden, Horatia K. F.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
