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.