different between incisive vs astute

English

Etymology

Late Middle English (in the sense “cutting, penetrating”), borrowed from Medieval Latin inc?s?vus, from inc?d? (“to cut in, cut through”) +? -?vus (“-ive”, adjectival suffix). Compare Middle French incisif.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?sa?.s?v/
• Rhymes: -a?s?v

Adjective

incisive (comparative more incisive, superlative most incisive)

1. (of a person or mental process) Intelligently analytical and concise.
   1. (of an account) Accurate and sharply focused.
2. (of an action) Quickly proceeding to judgment and forceful in expression.

   Synonyms: decisive, forthright

3. Having the quality of incising, cutting, or penetrating, as with a sharp instrument.
   • And her incisive smile accrediting / That treason of false witness in my blush.

   Synonyms: sharp, acute, sarcastic, biting

4. (anatomy, not comparable) Of or relating to the incisors.

Derived terms

Translations

References

• “incisive”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• “incisive”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, (Please provide a date or year).

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.si.ziv/
• Homophone: incisives

Adjective

incisive

1. feminine singular of incisif

Noun

incisive f (plural incisives)

1. incisor (tooth)

Further reading

• “incisive” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /in.t??i?zi.ve/
• Hyphenation: in?ci?sì?ve

Adjective

incisive

1. feminine plural of incisivo

Anagrams

• inveisci

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /in.ki??si?.u?e/, [??ki??s?i?u??]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /in.t??i?si.ve/, [in??t??i?s?i?v?]

Adjective

inc?s?ve

1. vocative masculine singular of inc?s?vus

English

Etymology

Latin ast?tus, from astus (“craft”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s?tju?t/
• Rhymes: -u?t

Adjective

astute (comparative astuter, superlative astutest)

1. Quickly and critically discerning.
2. Shrewd or crafty.
   • 2014, A teacher, "Choosing a primary school: a teacher's guide for parents", The Guardian, 23 September 2014:

     The best headteachers are like submarine captains – cool-headed, astute decision-makers – who trust their colleagues and surroundings to indicate where their ship is headed.

Synonyms

• crafty, shrewd, wily

Derived terms

• astutely
• astuteness

Translations

Anagrams

• statue

Estonian

Verb

astute

1. Second-person plural present form of astuma.

Italian

Adjective

astute

1. feminine plural of astuto

Anagrams

• statue

Latin

Adverb

ast?t? (comparative ast?tius, superlative ast?tissim?)

1. craftily, cunningly

References

• astute in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• astute in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• astute in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette