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
Andy Naylor, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024
This new setting helps director Joe Dante pull off some truly incisive satire of the Hollywood machine.
—EW.com, 17 Oct. 2024
Kennedy is incisive and darkly funny without ever being glib.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2024
The emotional and incisive play was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2019.
—Adam Tamburin, Axios, 1 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Incisive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incisive. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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incisive
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incisive
adjective
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