Incisive — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions

suitable for cutting or piercing

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ɪnsˈaɪsɪv/

🇬🇧British English

/ɪnsˈaɪsɪv/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɪnsˈaɪsɪv/

3 syllables Say it as /ɪnsˈaɪsɪv/.

Examples

an acute observer of politics and politicians
incisive comments
icy knifelike reasoning

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

discriminating penetrating acute piercing penetrative knifelike keen sharp

Parts of Speech

adjective	having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions “an acute observer of politics and politicians”
adjective	suitable for cutting or piercing “incisive teeth”

Word Forms

acuteness	noun	a quick and penetrating intelligence
incisiveness	noun	keenness and forcefulness of thought or expression or intellect
keenness	noun	a quick and penetrating intelligence
penetrate	verb	come to understand
sharpness	noun	a quick and penetrating intelligence
incision	noun	a depression scratched or carved into a surface
incise	verb	make an incision into by carving or cutting

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

prägnant

die Fähigkeit besitzen oder nachweisen, feine Unterscheidungen zu erkennen oder zu treffen

🇫🇷French

incisif

avoir ou démontrer la capacité de reconnaître ou de faire des distinctions fines

🇪🇸Spanish

incisivo

Tener o demostrar capacidad para reconocer o hacer distinciones finas.

🇮🇹Italian

incisivo

avere o dimostrare capacità di riconoscere o tracciare sottili distinzioni

🇳🇱Dutch

scherpzinnig

het vermogen hebben of aantonen om fijne onderscheidingen te herkennen of te maken

🇵🇹Portuguese

incisivo

ter ou demonstrar capacidade de reconhecer ou fazer distinções sutis

🇷🇺Russian

острый

наличие или демонстрация способности распознавать или проводить тонкие различия

India

🇮🇳Hindi

काटा हुआ

सूक्ष्म भेदों को पहचानने या निकालने की क्षमता रखना या प्रदर्शित करना

🇮🇳Tamil

கீறல்

சிறந்த வேறுபாடுகளை அடையாளம் காண அல்லது வரையக்கூடிய திறனைக் கொண்டிருத்தல் அல்லது வெளிப்படுத்துதல்

🇮🇳Telugu

కోత

చక్కటి వ్యత్యాసాలను గుర్తించే లేదా గీయగల సామర్థ్యాన్ని కలిగి ఉండటం లేదా ప్రదర్శించడం

🇮🇳Marathi

भेदक

उत्कृष्ट भेद ओळखण्याची किंवा काढण्याची क्षमता असणे किंवा प्रदर्शित करणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

ચીરો

સારા ભેદોને ઓળખવા અથવા દોરવાની ક્ષમતા ધરાવવી અથવા દર્શાવવી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಛೇದಕ

ಉತ್ತಮ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸಗಳನ್ನು ಗುರುತಿಸುವ ಅಥವಾ ಸೆಳೆಯುವ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಅಥವಾ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶಿಸುವ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ഉഗ്രൻ

മികച്ച വ്യത്യാസങ്ങൾ തിരിച്ചറിയുന്നതിനോ വരയ്ക്കുന്നതിനോ ഉള്ള കഴിവ് അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പ്രകടിപ്പിക്കുക

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

尖锐

具有或表现出识别或区分细微差别的能力

🇯🇵Japanese

鋭い

細かい区別を認識または引き出す能力を持っているか、または実証している

🇰🇷Korean

예리한

미세한 구별을 인식하거나 이끌어내는 능력이 있거나 이를 보여주는 것

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sắc bén

có hoặc thể hiện khả năng nhận biết hoặc rút ra sự khác biệt rõ ràng

🇹🇭Thai

แหลมคม

มีหรือแสดงให้เห็นถึงความสามารถในการรับรู้หรือแยกแยะความแตกต่างที่ดี

🇮🇩Indonesian

tajam

memiliki atau menunjukkan kemampuan untuk mengenali atau menarik perbedaan halus

🇵🇭Filipino

matalas

pagkakaroon o pagpapakita ng kakayahang makilala o gumuhit ng magagandang pagkakaiba

🇲🇾Malay

tajam

mempunyai atau menunjukkan keupayaan untuk mengenali atau melukis perbezaan yang baik

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

قاطعة

وجود أو إظهار القدرة على التعرف على الفروق الدقيقة أو رسمها

🇮🇷Persian

نافذ

داشتن یا نشان دادن توانایی تشخیص یا ترسیم تمایزات خوب

🇹🇷Turkish

keskin

İnce ayrımları tanıma veya çizme becerisine sahip olmak veya bunu göstermek

🇮🇱Hebrew

נוֹקֵב

בעל או הפגנת יכולת לזהות או לערוך הבחנות עדינות

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'incisive'?

The primary meaning of 'incisive' is 'having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'incisive' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'incisive' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'incisive' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'incisive' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'incisive' in your daily reading?

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Do you find 'incisive' easy to spell?

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In your opinion, does the word 'incisive' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

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Which age group is most likely to use 'incisive' in regular conversations?

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