incisive
/ɪnˈsaɪ.sɪv/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.76 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Intelligently analytical and concise. (of a person or mental process)
adj
Intelligently analytical and concise. (of a person or mental process)
adj
Quickly proceeding to judgment and forceful in expression. (of an action)
adj
Having the quality of incising, cutting, or penetrating, as with a sharp instrument; trenchant.
Example Sentences
- "An incisive producer, who expressed vehement disapproval with my pitch upon my first sentence."
- "She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry. His wooing had been brief but incisive."
- "An incisive, high voice."
- "And her incisive smile accrediting / That treason of false witness in my blush."
- "the incisive bones, the premaxillaries"
Etymology
Late Middle English (in the sense “cutting, penetrating”), borrowed from Medieval Latin incīsīvus, from incīdō (“to cut in, cut through”) + -īvus (“-ive”, adjectival suffix). Compare Middle French incisif.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *kh₂eyd-, -, incīsīvus
Inflected Forms
more incisive (comparative)
most incisive (superlative)