Incisive

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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 — 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.… …   English dictionary for students

• 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