incisive

incisive
I
(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)
adj. trenchant, penetrating; perceptive, discerning. See sharpness, feeling, intellect.
II
(Roget's IV) modif.
1. [Sarcastic]
Syn. penetrating, cutting, biting, sharp, severe; see also sarcastic .
2. [Intelligent]
Syn. trenchant, penetrating, perceptive, clever, bright, profound; see also intelligent 1 .
Syn.- incisive is applied to speech or writing that seems to penetrate directly to the heart of the matter, resulting in a clear and unambiguous statement [ an incisive criticism ] ; trenchant implies clean-cut expression that results in sharply defined categories, differences, etc. [ a trenchant analysis ] ; cutting implies incisive qualities but also connotes such harshness or sarcasm as to hurt the feelings [ his cutting allusion to her inefficiency ] ; biting implies a caustic or stinging quality that makes a deep impression on the mind [ his biting satire ]
III
(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) (VOCABULARY WORD) a.
[in SYE siv]
sharp, penetrating to the heart of a matter.
An incisive newspaper story on the homeless changed his attitude.
SYN.: sharp, penetrating, trenchant, acute, cutting, biting, piercing, to the point, keen, crisp, probing.
ANT.: shallow, superficial, dull
IV
(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective Possessing or displaying perceptions of great accuracy and sensitivity: acute, keen1, penetrating, perceptive, probing, sensitive, sharp, trenchant. See CAREFUL, SHARP.

English dictionary for students. 2013.

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  • incisive — incisive, trenchant, clear cut, cutting, biting, crisp are applied to utterances, thoughts, style, or mentalities and mean having or manifesting the qualities associated with sharpness, keenness, and acuteness, especially of mind. Incisive… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • incisive — [ ɛ̃siziv ] n. f. • 1545; de dent incisive ♦ Dent aplatie et tranchante qui coupe les aliments, dans la partie médiane des arcades dentaires. Les huit incisives de l homme. « les tranchantes incisives des rongeurs » (Pergaud). Incisives de l… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Incisive — In*ci sive, a. [Cf. F. incisif.] [1913 Webster] 1. Having the quality of incising, cutting, or penetrating, as with a sharp instrument; cutting; hence, sharp; acute; sarcastic; biting; trenchant. An incisive, high voice. G. Eliot. [1913 Webster]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • incisive — [in sī′siv] adj. [ML incisivus < L incisus: see INCISE] 1. cutting into 2. sharp; keen; penetrating; acute [an incisive mind] 3. of the incisors incisively adv. incisiveness n. SYN. INCISIVE is applied to spe …   English World dictionary

  • incisive — [adj1] intelligent acute, bright, clever, concise, keen, penetrating, perspicacious, piercing, profound, sharp, trenchant; concept 402 Ant. incompetent, stupid incisive [adj2] sarcastic acerb, acerbic, acid, biting, caustic, clear cut, concise,… …   New thesaurus

  • incisive — I adjective acute, biting, brisk, caustic, cutting, discerning, effective, electric, galvanic, harsh, keen, mordacious, mordant, mordax, moving, penetrating, piercing, piquant, pointed, powerful, pungent, sarcastic, sarcastical, satiric,… …   Law dictionary

  • incisive — (adj.) early 15c., inscisif, slashing, cutting with a sharp edge, from M.Fr. incisif and directly from M.L. incisivus, from L. incis , pp. stem of incidere (see INCISION (Cf. incision)). Originally literal; figurative sense of mentally acute… …   Etymology dictionary

  • incisive — ► ADJECTIVE 1) intelligently analytical and concise. 2) (of an action) quick and direct. DERIVATIVES incisively adverb incisiveness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • incisive — incisively, adv. incisiveness, n. /in suy siv/, adj. 1. penetrating; cutting; biting; trenchant: an incisive tone of voice. 2. remarkably clear and direct; sharp; keen; acute: an incisive method of summarizing the issue. 3. adapted for cutting or …   Universalium

  • incisive — in|ci|sive [ınˈsaısıv] adj showing intelligence and a clear understanding of something incisive remarks/criticism etc ▪ Her questions were well formulated and incisive. ▪ The error was obvious to an incisive mind like his. >incisively adv… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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