decisively
Americanadverb
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in a way that settles a matter and puts an end to debate or speculation.
The question, "Do habitable conditions for life exist elsewhere in the galaxy?" has been decisively answered in the affirmative.
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in a firm and resolute way, without wavering.
The Executive Office must be able to move quickly and decisively to preserve endangered ecosystems, history, or prehistory on federal land.
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in a clear or definite way; indisputably.
She has not only decisively beaten but ended the political career of every candidate who ran against her.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of decisively
Vocabulary lists containing decisively
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.
Energy minister Chris McDonald said the government was "acting decisively and with a purpose in the national interest".
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
So far, he said, Xi has played along with that lesson—giving Putin room, maintaining the appearances of equality in public, even as the underlying reality has shifted decisively in China’s favor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
But the silence has catalyzed non-Swiftie onlookers to gin up something decisively, inarguably odious to place at the singer’s feet.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
By every metric, Spain controlled the match and won decisively in its best performance of the tournament.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
When Ulbrickson shouted the start command through his megaphone—“Ready all... Row!”— the JV boat, with Bobby Moch in the stern, pulled away from the sophomores promptly, easily, and decisively.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
