incisive
adjective
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Incisive has meant "impressively direct and decisive" since around 1834 and derives from the Latin verb caedere, meaning "to cut." Its linguistic kin include many cuttings from the fruitful stem caedere, such as scissors, chisel, incise ("to cut into or engrave"), excise ("to remove by cutting"), incisor ("a front tooth typically adapted for cutting"), incision ("cut" or "gash"), precise ("minutely exact"), and concise ("brief"). Incisive also carries a couple of lesser-known literal meanings relating to cutting: "having a cutting edge or piercing point" (as in "incisive fangs"), and, in dentistry, "of, relating to, or situated near the incisors."
Examples of incisive in a Sentence
Raymond Gram Swing, Foreign Affairs, 6 Aug. 2024
Hamilton’s soulful vocals complement Mike’s incisive rhymes, creating a memorable highlight in an already strong lineup.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 2 Aug. 2024
Gibney is an incisive documentarian with an eye for details and a knack for nailing potent points.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 31 July 2024
The book’s premise prepares the reader for the author’s excellent, incisive commentary, which—sardonic at times, earnest at others—encourages us to think wider, allusively, imaginatively, over borders and boundaries.
D’Souza divides the book into four chapters, each hinging on a key concept.
—Larissa Pham, ARTnews.com, 29 July 2024
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incisive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Incisive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incisive. Accessed 17 Aug. 2024.
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incisive
adjective
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incisive
adjective
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