"incisive" meaning in English

See incisive in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ɪnˈsaɪ.sɪv/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-incisive.wav Forms: more incisive [comparative], most incisive [superlative]
Rhymes: -aɪsɪv 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. Etymology templates: {{root|en|ine-pro|*kh₂eyd-}}, {{inh|en|enm|-}} Middle English, {{m-g|cutting, penetrating}} “cutting, penetrating”, {{der|en|ML.|incīsīvus}} Medieval Latin incīsīvus, {{af|la|incīdō|-īvus|nocat=1|pos2=adjectival suffix|t1=to cut in, cut through|t2=-ive}} incīdō (“to cut in, cut through”) + -īvus (“-ive”, adjectival suffix), {{cog|frm|incisif}} Middle French incisif Head templates: {{en-adj}} incisive (comparative more incisive, superlative most incisive)
  1. Intelligently analytical and concise. (of a person or mental process)
    Sense id: en-incisive-en-adj-EMe~OMo8
  2. Intelligently analytical and concise. (of a person or mental process)
    Accurate and sharply focused. (of an account)
    Sense id: en-incisive-en-adj-pMMBveKH
  3. Quickly proceeding to judgment and forceful in expression. (of an action) Synonyms: decisive, forthright Translations (quickly proceeding to judgment): проницателен (pronicatelen) (Bulgarian), incisiu (Catalan), suoraviivainen (Finnish), incisif (French), incisivo (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-incisive-en-adj-MFvi2zF6 Disambiguation of 'quickly proceeding to judgment': 3 3 87 6 1
  4. Having the quality of incising, cutting, or penetrating, as with a sharp instrument; trenchant. Categories (topical): Thinking Synonyms: sharp, acute, sarcastic, biting
    Sense id: en-incisive-en-adj-s5uV1hOD Disambiguation of Thinking: 5 5 25 61 4 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 4 entries, Pages with entries, Terms with Bulgarian translations, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Spanish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 16 16 17 33 18 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 21 21 18 30 11 Disambiguation of Pages with 4 entries: 14 14 12 42 16 1 1 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 15 15 13 38 18 1 1 Disambiguation of Terms with Bulgarian translations: 13 13 20 43 12 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 15 15 16 42 12 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 13 13 17 44 12 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 17 17 13 42 11 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 12 12 17 46 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 15 15 14 43 12
  5. (anatomy, relational) Of or relating to the incisors. Tags: relational Categories (topical): Anatomy Translations (relating to the incisors): 門齒的 /门齿的 (ménchǐ de) (Chinese Mandarin)
    Sense id: en-incisive-en-adj-jtzAl3fJ Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences Disambiguation of 'relating to the incisors': 8 8 8 19 58
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: incisive bone, incisive canal, incisive fossa, incisively, incisiveness, incisivity, interincisive, maxilloincisive, nasoincisive, unincisive
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  "derived": [
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      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "incisive bone"
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      "word": "incisive fossa"
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      "word": "incisively"
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    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "incisiveness"
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    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "incisivity"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "interincisive"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "maxilloincisive"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "nasoincisive"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "unincisive"
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  "forms": [
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      "form": "more incisive",
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        "comparative"
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  "lang_code": "en",
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        "Intelligently analytical and concise. (of a person or mental process)"
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          "text": "An incisive producer, who expressed vehement disapproval with my pitch upon my first sentence.",
          "type": "example"
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        {
          "ref": "1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
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          "word": "decisive"
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        {
          "_dis1": "3 3 87 6 1",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "pronicatelen",
          "sense": "quickly proceeding to judgment",
          "word": "проницателен"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 3 87 6 1",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "quickly proceeding to judgment",
          "word": "incisiu"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 3 87 6 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "quickly proceeding to judgment",
          "word": "suoraviivainen"
        },
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          "_dis1": "3 3 87 6 1",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "quickly proceeding to judgment",
          "word": "incisif"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 3 87 6 1",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "quickly proceeding to judgment",
          "word": "incisivo"
        }
      ]
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            "Fundamental"
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          "type": "quote"
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          "ref": "1856, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Second Book”, in Aurora Leigh, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1857, →OCLC:",
          "text": "And her incisive smile accrediting / That treason of false witness in my blush.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
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        "Having the quality of incising, cutting, or penetrating, as with a sharp instrument; trenchant."
      ],
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          "incise"
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          "cut"
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          "instrument"
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          "word": "sarcastic"
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        {
          "text": "the incisive bones, the premaxillaries",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
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        "Of or relating to the incisors."
      ],
      "id": "en-incisive-en-adj-jtzAl3fJ",
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          "anatomy",
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        [
          "incisor",
          "incisor"
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(anatomy, relational) Of or relating to the incisors."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "relational"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "anatomy",
        "medicine",
        "sciences"
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      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "8 8 8 19 58",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "ménchǐ de",
          "sense": "relating to the incisors",
          "word": "門齒的 /门齿的"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
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      "ipa": "/ɪnˈsaɪ.sɪv/"
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      "rhymes": "-aɪsɪv"
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    "English terms derived from Middle English",
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    {
      "word": "interincisive"
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      "word": "maxilloincisive"
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          "text": "An incisive producer, who expressed vehement disapproval with my pitch upon my first sentence.",
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          "text": "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.",
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          "ref": "1856, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Second Book”, in Aurora Leigh, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1857, →OCLC:",
          "text": "And her incisive smile accrediting / That treason of false witness in my blush.",
          "type": "quote"
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having the quality of incising, cutting, or penetrating, as with a sharp instrument; trenchant."
      ],
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          "word": "sharp"
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          "word": "sarcastic"
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          "word": "biting"
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        "Of or relating to the incisors."
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        "(anatomy, relational) Of or relating to the incisors."
      ],
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        "sciences"
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    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-incisive.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7b/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-incisive.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-incisive.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7b/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-incisive.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-incisive.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-aɪsɪv"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "pronicatelen",
      "sense": "quickly proceeding to judgment",
      "word": "проницателен"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "quickly proceeding to judgment",
      "word": "incisiu"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "quickly proceeding to judgment",
      "word": "suoraviivainen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "quickly proceeding to judgment",
      "word": "incisif"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "quickly proceeding to judgment",
      "word": "incisivo"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "ménchǐ de",
      "sense": "relating to the incisors",
      "word": "門齒的 /门齿的"
    }
  ],
  "word": "incisive"
}

Download raw JSONL data for incisive meaning in English (6.1kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-03-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-02-21 using wiktextract (7c21d10 and f2e72e5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.