different between pointed vs incisive

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: poin?t?d, IPA^(key): /?p??nt?d/

Verb

pointed

1. simple past tense and past participle of point

Adjective

pointed (comparative more pointed, superlative most pointed)

1. (comparable) Sharp, barbed; not dull.

   The warrior brandished a pointed spear.

2. (not comparable) In animals, having a coat pattern with points, that is, darkening of the extremities.

   The Siamese is a pointed breed of cat.

3. (comparable, of a comment or inference) Directed negatively at a person or topic.
   • 1863 February 21, “Important from Washington”, in The New York Times:

     Attention has been called to the report in a New-York paper, which has been made the subject of pointed comment […]

   • 2013 June 18, Simon Romero, "Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders," New York Times (retrieved 21 June 2013):

     After a harsh police crackdown last week fueled anger and swelled protests, President Dilma Rousseff, a former guerrilla who was imprisoned under the dictatorship and has now become the target of pointed criticism herself, tried to appease dissenters by embracing their cause on Tuesday.

   • 1910 September 3, “Taft Is Not Pleased by Roosevelt Plan”, in The New York Times:

     President Taft to-day had a pointed comment for the "new nationalism" that his predecessor has been launching in the West.

4. (topology, algebraic topology, of a topological space) That has a named, but otherwise arbitrary, point (called the basepoint) that remains unchanged during subsequent discussion and is kept track of during all operations.

Synonyms

• (sharp): pointy, sharp

Antonyms

• (sharp): blunt

Derived terms

• Earth-pointed
• pointedly

Translations

Anagrams

• opted in, pitoned

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