incisive
/ɪnˈsaɪ.sɪv/adjective
incisive is spelled I-N-C-I-S-I-V-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, incisive means “Intelligently analytical and concise. (of a person or mental process)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in incisive?
| Letters | 8: I-N-C-I-S-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 38,863rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is incisive?
Incisive appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce incisive?
- /ɪnˈsaɪ.sɪv/
Incisive has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-incisive.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of incisive
- more incisive comparative
- most incisive superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does incisive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Intelligently analytical and concise. (of a person or mental process)
- 2
Accurate and sharply focused. (of an account)
- 3
Quickly proceeding to judgment and forceful in expression. (of an action)
An incisive producer, who expressed vehement disapproval with my pitch upon my first sentence.
- 4
Having the quality of incising, cutting, or penetrating, as with a sharp instrument; trenchant.
- 5
Of or relating to the incisors.
the incisive bones, the premaxillaries
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Incisive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense quickly proceeding to judgment:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does incisive come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).