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
Carl Anka, New York Times, 9 May 2025
Follow Harris for her incisive perspective on the dynamic, rapidly evolving spaces of entrepreneurship, wellness, and lifestyle innovation.
—Meggen Harris, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
For readers who did not spend their days walking the factory floor or supervising the sorting of coal chunks sliding down a chute, an incisive picture would stand out.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2025
The photographer John Humble — known for his incisive images of L.A.’s vast urban landscape — has died.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incisive
Cite this Entry
“Incisive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incisive. Accessed 17 May. 2025.
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incisive
adjective
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incisive
adjective
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