incisive
incisive Lexical Profile
incisive Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Demonstrating clear, sharp, and penetrating mental discernment or analytical thought; direct and forceful in expression.
"The journalist was widely praised for her incisive questioning during the televised debate."
Adapted for cutting or piercing, or relating to the incisor teeth.
"Rodents possess specialized incisive teeth that grow continuously throughout their lives to compensate for constant wear."
• Rhymes for incisive
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late Middle English period from Medieval Latin incisivus, from Latin incisus, the past participle of incidere ('to cut into'), formed from in- ('into') and caedere ('to cut'). Originally used in medical and anatomical contexts to describe cutting teeth or instruments before developing its figurative sense of mental sharpness.