incisive

Definition

Intelligently analytical and concise. (of a person or mental process)

Etymology

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.

Example Sentences

• "An incisive producer, who expressed vehement disapproval with my pitch upon my first sentence."
• "She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry. His wooing had been brief but incisive."
• "An incisive, high voice."