conclusive
Americanadjective
-
serving to settle or decide a question; decisive; convincing.
conclusive evidence.
- Synonyms:
- definitive
-
tending to terminate; closing.
adjective
-
putting an end to doubt; decisive; final
-
approaching or involving an end or conclusion
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of conclusive
1580–90; < Late Latin conclūsīvus, equivalent to Latin conclūs ( us ) (past participle of conclūdere to conclude; see conclusion) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
If you've got a theory that you're trying to prove, and you uncover a conclusive piece of evidence, then the case is closed. Conclusive means you've got your answer, you've proved your theory, and there can't be any doubt about it. If want to prove that frogs can speak, and you record a frog reciting "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," that would be conclusive evidence for your claim. But if the frog seemed to be mumbling and mainly making regular old frog noises, critics would say that your video was not conclusive. You can also use the word conclusive to describe winning something easily or by a large margin, like when the talent competition judges handed the tap-dancing bear a conclusive victory, and he moved on triumphantly to the finals.
Vocabulary lists containing conclusive
The Emancipation Proclamation (1862)
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Case Closed: Clud, Clus
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The Articles of Confederation (1777)
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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.
“Although we do not have conclusive evidence of this occurring yet, it may still be on the horizon, and increased churn in the labor market could be anticipated.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
That might have promised a more conclusive outcome.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
But a review in 2024 found there was not enough conclusive evidence of his age.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
But without conclusive research, it's just a guessing game - and one in which F1 risks, not for the first time, taking a wrong step because it failed to undertake rigorous analysis.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
“However, I think we have now pretty conclusive evidence on the point. . . We have observed neutrons from targets other than beryllium in just the amount we expected.”
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
