Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Penetrating, clear, and sharp, as in operation or expression: an incisive mind; incisive comments.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Having the quality of cutting into or dividing the substance of anything; cutting, or used for cutting: as, the incisive teeth.
- Figuratively, sharply and clearly expressive; penetrating; trenchant; sharp; acute.
- Having the power of breaking up or dissolving viscid or coagulated humors.
- In anatomy and zoology: Having the character, function, or situation of an incisor tooth; incisorial.
- Pertaining in any way to an incisor; situated near incisors; containing incisors: synonymous with premaxillary or intermaxillary and prepalatine.
- n. In entomology, the incisive edge of the mandible of a beetle. See incisive edge, above.
Wiktionary
- adj. Quickly proceeding to judgment and forceful in expression; decisive; forthright.
- adj. Intelligently analytical and concise.
- adj. Having the quality of incising, cutting, or penetrating, as with a sharp instrument; sharp; acute; sarcastic; biting.
- adj. anatomy Of or relating to the incisors.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Having the quality of incising, cutting, or penetrating, as with a sharp instrument; cutting. sharp; acute; sarcastic; biting; trenchant.
- adj. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the incisors; incisor.
- adj. Clearly and succinctly stated, with penetrating insight into the issue at hand.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
- adj. suitable for cutting or piercing
Examples
“Where this assemblage of impressive objects falls short, though, is in incisive curatorial analysis.”
The Huffington Post: Lee Rosenbaum: Barbarians Tamed: The Met's Timid "Khubilai Khan" Exhibition
“A new exhibit at the Metropolitan Art Museum falls short in incisive curatorial analysis.”
The Huffington Post: Lee Rosenbaum: Barbarians Tamed: The Met's Timid "Khubilai Khan" Exhibition
“Your propensity to slander people who point out the inherent flaws in your strategy is duly noted, such as calling the incisive”
“Long time readers of the Intrepid Liberal Journal may recall the incisive and sometimes irreverent comments Patrick has posted here over the years.”
“To many of us in the minority -- that is, those born before 1940 -- Clifton Fadiman is known as the incisive host of a long-running radio show, Information, P.ease, peopled by experts like Franklin P. Adams, Oscar Levant, and other well-informed bodies who spontaneously answered questions sent in by listeners.”
“The kind of incisive and intelligent analysis gaming deserves --- you know, the kind practiced here by Leigh --- seems to still only be possible when the writer and/or publisher isn't beholden to the tyranny of the marketplace.”
“While Traister notes the many improvements resulting from 2008, there is still much to be done, and Big Girls Don't Cry advances that vital work with precisely the kind of incisive, thoughtful, and personal approach required by such a complicated and contentious subject matter.”
The Huffington Post: AJ Rossmiller: Brilliant New Book About Gender and 2008 Election
“Roberts is going for a Bulgakov meets Foucault's Pendulum sort of thing, with conspiracies that turn out to be true and a lot of madcap running around Moscow with clever asides and "incisive" satire on the Soviet system, but it doesn't really come off as clever or madcap or even very conspiratorial.”
“I say "sadly," not because it's a pity the cable-news network exists (get your mind out of the gutter, you dirty hippies!), but because I believe that deprives so many historical events that truly could have benefited from the kind of incisive perspective that Fox is celebrated for providing.”
““The Republican party is in deep trouble,” General Powell told some group willing to pay him serious money to deliver this kind of incisive insight.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘incisive’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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gre
municipal, whit, dissembler, berate, liberally, embellish, dissimilitude, histrionics, flamboyance, bombastic, bovine, calumny and 142 more...
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2nd part
prelude, ample, escalate, prototype, accession, acquisition, archives, zealot, indict, verdict, intimidating, timid and 454 more...
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Remember Not To Forget
Sephardic, Umwelt, amphiboly, untrammeled, sequela, pandiculation, tensegrity, syncretism, pugilism, shemagh, disquisition, perspicacity and 65 more...
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List 2(starting at 260)
mammoth, overt, valor, aspire, relegate, bias, incisive, scurry, precipitate, singular, inveigh, repulse and 48 more...
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GRE 1100
drudgery, implore, hapless, nuance, wrest, incipient, inadvertent, tremulous, bristle, euphemism, disdain, pugnacious and 346 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1834 more...
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G...R...E
gross.
sybarite, restiveness, churl, nepotism, jingoism, pusillanimous, gaffe, incisive, enervate, bucolic, concomitant, abeyance and 158 more...
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1100 words you need to know
GRE words
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 288 more...
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Words I Should Use More Often
Words that I'll use to sound erudite.
fungible, aggrandizement, tete-a-tete, sententious, serendipitous, fortuitous, lugubrious, declivity, propitiatory, volubility, august, tenebrous and 214 more...
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My preparation
for GRE ofcourse
morbid, disparate, incipient, exonerate, engross, ebullient, predilection, propensity, allure, qualms, chastise, perpetuate and 111 more...
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addendumb's Words
fey, cockshut, redact, beatific, melange, arcanum, rarefied, dissemble, capitulation, detritus, ennui, anodyne and 381 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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megsarah's Words
lygophilia, rhapsodomancy, lynch, ebb, throb, hollow, somniloquy, incense, caress, sashay, ephemeral, quiver and 98 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for incisive.
jwjarvis incisive case Sep 22, 2010
asativum Thus explaining the etymology of incisor, no doubt. Apr 27, 2008
dontcry that's when i say "bite me" and mean it. Apr 27, 2008