decisive

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /dɪˈsɪsɪv/ UK /dɪˈsaɪsɪv/ See IPA manual

Freq #11616

Meanings

1

adj
Able to make choices quickly and firmly.

A good leader has to be decisive in a crisis.
2

adj
Strongly affecting the final result of something.

Her vote turned out to be decisive in the election.
3

adj
Clear and beyond doubt; conclusive.

The team won a decisive victory over their rivals.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 adj · strongly affecting the... critical

More conclusive decided positive

Opposites

indecisive

Word family

Derived forms decisively decisivenessnondecisiveundecisive

Related forms decidable decide decided

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Etymology

From Middle French décisif, equivalent to decide + -ive.

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# decisive

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈsɪsɪv/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈsaɪsɪv/
**Frequency rank:** 11616

## Meanings
1. Able to make choices quickly and firmly.
2. Strongly affecting the final result of something.
3. Clear and beyond doubt; conclusive.

## Examples
- A good leader has to be decisive in a crisis.
- Her vote turned out to be decisive in the election.
- The team won a decisive victory over their rivals.

## Synonyms
- conclusive
- decided
- positive

## Antonyms
- indecisive

## Derived Forms
- decisively
- decisiveness
- nondecisive
- undecisive

## Related Forms
- decidable
- decide
- decided

## Etymology
From Middle French décisif, equivalent to decide + -ive.

## AI Etymology
Decisive is from Middle French décisif, equivalent to decide plus -ive. The formation is semantically transparent: the parts remain visible, while the compound or affix fixes the grammatical role and narrows the modern meaning. In use as an adjective, decisive denotes able to make choices quickly and firmly, strongly affecting the final result of something, and clear and beyond doubt; conclusive. The same word family continues in derived forms such as decisively, decisiveness, nondecisive, and undecisive and related entries such as decidable, decide, and decided.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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