divisive

adjective

di·​vi·​sive də-ˈvī-siv 

also

-ˈvi- 

 or  -ziv

: creating disunity or dissension

a divisive issue

divisive rhetoric

divisively adverb

divisiveness noun

Examples of divisive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After Meyers set up an unrelated joke about a man who robbed a bodega, Ruffin sarcastically scolded him and said that making a joke about the burglar would be divisive. —Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2025

Musk’s backing of Schimel, the state’s former attorney general, has been one of the most divisive issues in the race. —Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 1 Apr. 2025

And all of this is happening against a backdrop of national and global uncertainty: the scars of a pandemic, economic recession, a deeply divisive election cycle and an era of growing distrust in institutions. —Alan M. Langlieb, Baltimore Sun, 31 Mar. 2025

Buck’s career has coincided with the growth of the internet, an increasingly divisive place with the ascent of social media. —Andrew Marchand, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1642, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for divisive

• decisive
• incisive
• indecisive