1
Core quality
Determining an outcome or showing the ability to make firm, clear decisions.
Example
The newly dated letter provided decisive evidence for the earlier chronology.
decisive
/dɪˈsaɪsɪv/ · dih-SY-sivadjective
Determining an outcome or showing the ability to make firm, clear decisions.
Use decisive to express this relationship precisely: determining an outcome or showing the ability to make firm, clear decisions.
What decisive Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
A late increase in turnout proved decisive in the election.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
The chair took decisive action before the damage spread.
Use decisive Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The newly dated letter provided decisive evidence for the earlier chronology.
A late increase in turnout proved decisive in the election.
The chair took decisive action before the damage spread.
Precision Matters
Decisive overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
decisive
vs.Means determining an outcome or showing the ability to make firm, clear decisions.
watershed
Means an event or period marking a major turning point.
decisive
vs.Means determining an outcome or showing the ability to make firm, clear decisions.
imperative
Means vitally important, urgent, or necessary.
decisive
vs.Means determining an outcome or showing the ability to make firm, clear decisions.
tenuous
Means weak, slight, or insufficiently supported.
decisive
vs.Means determining an outcome or showing the ability to make firm, clear decisions.
unequivocal
Means completely clear and leaving no room for doubt.
Test decisive in Context
The final result determined the outcome.
1
Both groups performed similarly until the final trial, whose result was ___ in establishing the winner.