as in acidic
very clear and direct
She provided an incisive analysis that changed my entire opinion on the issue.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of incisive
Three seasons in, this approach remains incisive in the ’90s story line, especially when combined with spooky world-building and supernatural imagination.
—
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
Most of the Wildcats’ most incisive passes skimmed across the turf, immune to the same gusts that could knock a long ball off-course in the air.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2025
This departure from post-Berlin Wall universalist liberalism has been a long time in the making, and Vance's incisive rebuke of European elites powerfully drove home the point.
—Newsweek, 21 Feb. 2025
His passing is more incisive, his ‘pre-orientation’ the best of any Palace player.
—Matt Woosnam, The Athletic, 17 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incisive
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
Most of the Wildcats’ most incisive passes skimmed across the turf, immune to the same gusts that could knock a long ball off-course in the air.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2025
This departure from post-Berlin Wall universalist liberalism has been a long time in the making, and Vance's incisive rebuke of European elites powerfully drove home the point.
—Newsweek, 21 Feb. 2025
His passing is more incisive, his ‘pre-orientation’ the best of any Palace player.
—Matt Woosnam, The Athletic, 17 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incisive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incisive
Adjective
-
Blueberries need a very acidic soil; have the soil pH checked before planting. 69.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Mar. 2025
-
Natural colors can be sensitive to heat, light, oxygen and changes in pH. Pigments extracted from berries, cabbage, and red radishes, for instance, may register as a purply-blue when used in a neutral-pH cookie dough but change to a pastel pink when added to an acidic lemonade.—
Ali Bouzari,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
But his prematurely craggy voice and melodies, combined with arrangement rooted in string bands, were nothing like the soft-rock dudes on the radio; if anything, Hurley was acid folk.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
18 Mar. 2025
-
For the Abe Lincoln tomato, for example — a century-old, disease-resistant red slicer with rich, slightly acid flavor — there is seed from listers in California, Nebraska, Maine, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and New Jersey.—
Margaret Roach,
New York Times,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Roger Craig Smith has a fear of being on a ledge, which is ironic considering he’s renowned for featuring in Assassin’s Creed, a gaming franchise that makes players climb around on very high rooftops.—
Joshua Lamb,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
-
Brighton repeatedly exploited City’s weakness defending these situations — ironic for a team who built their success on scoring from such moves.—
Andy Naylor,
The Athletic,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
His words articulated a feeling many football fans have felt in a concise and beautiful way.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
-
Now, the need to articulate our thoughts with precision compels us to deconstruct complex ideas, identify underlying assumptions, and formulate straightforward, concise questions.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
These basic ideas, far from revelatory, never come close to the trenchant critiques of hedonism in Wilde’s 1891 novel.—
Christian Lewis,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
-
Image Wood’s critique — the way technology has left us prone to dysfunctional loneliness — is trenchant, but his approach is fundamentally goofy.—
Ismail Muhammad,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
At that second, a song about anime boobs had never sounded sweeter and more poignant.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
28 Mar. 2025
-
The Great Unravelling For that reason, my visit with Nye was also poignant.—
Penny Abeywardena,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
When Dutchman opened at the Cherry Lane Theater in 1964, its acerbic take on the relationship between white and Black Americans shocked audiences.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
The Hollywood Reporter,
8 Mar. 2025
-
And when Beck has the delightfully acerbic Agnes, a cook who appears to be on duty 24/7, on staff?—
Chris Klimek,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
But nothing can quite compare with the sophistication and sardonic genius of Nigel Kipling.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
18 Mar. 2025
-
While Grace, in a variation on his usual chatty dweebs, wavers between sardonic and panicky, poor Dockery is stuck playing a character who has to make terrible decision after terrible decision in order to sustain the primary gimmick.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
23 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Incisive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incisive. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share