dispositive

American  

[dih-spoz-i-tiv] / dɪˈspɒz ɪ tɪv /

adjective

1. involving or affecting disposition or settlement.

   a dispositive clue in a case of embezzlement.

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Etymology

Origin of dispositive

1475–85; dispose + -itive, on the model of positive

Example Sentences

These claims deserve attention, though dispositive they are not.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

When judicial outcomes turn on theories that corporate decision makers couldn’t reasonably anticipate would be dispositive, such as after-the-fact judgments about incentive necessity, governance risk becomes harder to assess in advance.

From Barron's • Jan. 14, 2026

The Reid Technique also condones lying in certain circumstances, as long as it doesn’t involve “incontrovertible or dispositive evidence,” noting that the Supreme Court in 1969 in Frazier vs.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2024

In one especially Kafkaesque incident, I was even shut out of a hearing on dispositive motions for my client, Daniel Hale, even though there was no classified information at issue.

From Salon • Dec. 15, 2024

The parties shall give notice of any arbitration award to the Administrator, and such award shall, as between the parties to the arbitration, be dispositive of the issues to which it relates.

From Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code, Circular 92 by United States