different between incisive vs ingenious

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

Alternative forms

• engenious (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French ingénieux, from Old French engenious, from Latin ingeni?sus (“endowed with good natural capacity, gifted with genius”), from ingenium (“innate or natural quality, natural capacity, genius”), from in- (“in”) +? gignere (“to produce”), Old Latin genere. See also engine.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?d?i?nj?s/, /?n?d?i?ni?s/
• Rhymes: -i?ni?s
• Hyphenation: in?ge?nious

Adjective

ingenious (comparative more ingenious, superlative most ingenious)

1. (of a person) Displaying genius or brilliance; tending to invent.

2. (of a thing) Characterized by genius; cleverly done or contrived.

3. Witty; original; shrewd; adroit; keen; sagacious.

Usage notes

Do not confuse with ingenuous.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:witty
• See also Thesaurus:intelligent

Related terms

Translations

References

• ingenious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ingenious in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.