incisive
[in-sahy-siv]
- penetrating; cutting; biting; trenchant: an incisive tone of voice.
- remarkably clear and direct; sharp; keen; acute: an incisive method of summarizing the issue.
- adapted for cutting or piercing.
- of or relating to the incisors: the incisive teeth.
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Origin of incisive
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
trenchant, penetrating, piercing, concise, scathing, acerbic, sardonic, satirical, succinct, caustic, biting, mordant, terse, acute, bright, clever, keen, perspicacious, profound, sharpExamples from the Web for incisive
Contemporary Examples
His correspondence, much of which survives, is that of an incisive and articulate observer.
John Jenkins describes Miller as an “incisive witness both to scientific acumen and religious belief.”
But unlike Bloom and Eagleton, his books have been, while erudite and incisive, unashamedly populist.
It took time, but Hemingway eventually met his match in the incisive Kenneth Lynn.
The ideas in these comics are more subtle and incisive than simply depicting the imprisonment of the capitalist metropolis.
Historical Examples
But incisive native writing about American traits is not lacking.
The American MindBliss Perry
"Yes, it is Florent," she said presently, in incisive tones.
The Fat and the ThinEmile Zola
Each quiet, incisive word that Chet spoke was clearly heard.
The Finding of HaldgrenCharles Willard Diffin
How disagreeable he must have made himself, to render her so sharp and so incisive all at once.
Luttrell Of ArranCharles James Lever
"It was sold for money, I suppose," he said with studied and incisive calmness.
An Outcast of the IslandsJoseph Conrad
incisive
- keen, penetrating, or acute
- biting or sarcastic; mordantan incisive remark
- having a sharp cutting edgeincisive teeth
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for incisive
adj.
early 15c., inscisif, "slashing, cutting with a sharp edge," from Middle French incisif and directly from Medieval Latin incisivus, from Latin incis-, past participle stem of incidere (see incision). Originally literal; figurative sense of "mentally acute" first recorded 1850 as a borrowing from French. Related: Incisively; incisiveness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
incisive
(ĭn-sī′sĭv)- Having the power to cut.
- Relating to the incisor teeth.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.