How to Use decisive in a Sentence

decisive

adjective
Definition of decisivenext
Synonyms for decisivenext
  • The fight ended with a decisive blow.
  • The meeting is seen as a decisive step toward a peace treaty.
  • The poverty of his childhood played a decisive role in his adult life.
  • I stood there wondering what to do, but my sister was more decisive and immediately went to the phone.
  • You must be decisive and persistent to succeed in this competitive field.
  • The loss of the bridge may prove decisive on that second score.
    — New York Times, 14 June 2022
  • His wife died four years ago, and their daughter said that her death was a decisive factor in his health.
    — Nina Siegal, BostonGlobe.com, 17 June 2022
  • Jeff Buckley’s life started with both an act of embrace and a decisive abandonment.
    — Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2025
  • Russia’s advantage in heavy artillery so far has been the decisive factor in the Donbas campaign.
    — David Axe, Forbes, 24 June 2022
  • Some Trump advisers have also been imploring him not to endorse Greitens, which could be decisive in the right-drifting state.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 23 June 2022
  • President Donald Trump took the oath of office Monday morning, starting his second term with a triumphant and decisive comeback.
    — Riley Beggin, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2025
  • Mullins scored the decisive run on the play, as the Orioles won, 7-6.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 20 June 2024
  • In a battle of big men, a point guard made the decisive play.
    — Zach Osterman, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Feb. 2023
  • The next few years will be decisive, Vagneur-Jones said.
    — Sara Schonhardt, Scientific American, 30 Jan. 2023
  • So, the decisive factor will be how well a show is made.
    — Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Feb. 2024
  • The Brewers’ five-run eighth served as the decisive blow.
    — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2024
  • The Sooners pushed a run across in the ninth and held on for an 8-7 win to extend the streak and avoid a third and decisive game with the Tigers.
    — USA TODAY, 7 June 2023
  • The Aries moon squares off with Mars today, putting you in decisive space.
    — USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2023
  • The Oscars come too late to be a decisive factor, but were a nice bonus.
    — Patrick Frater, Variety, 11 Apr. 2024
  • In the past, of course, the United States played a decisive role in Guatemalan history.
    — Graciela Mochkofsky, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2023
  • In a world that borders on sci-fi, Horowitz is a decisive guide.
    — Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 26 June 2024
  • Pierre was credited with the decisive blow of the game on her ninth and final kill.
    — Aj Traub, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Sep. 2023
  • The vote was decisive, the papers say — which is, to use the 21st-century term, fake news.
    — al, 5 Dec. 2022
  • The Terps forced six turnovers during the decisive stretch and the Badgers hit just one of seven shots.
    — Jim Hoehn, Baltimore Sun, 11 Jan. 2025
  • The Bucks pulled ahead by as much as 20 points late in the fourth quarter to record the decisive victory.
    — Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 18 Dec. 2024
  • Against the Astros in the fall classic, Swanson hit two home runs, in game four and the decisive game six.
    — Jared Wyllys, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022
  • This album feels like a very decisive move away from that.
    — Vulture, 14 July 2023
  • The play surprised no one, contributing to the decisive turnover.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Sep. 2023
  • But even three seats could be decisive in a close election.
    — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 10 Nov. 2022
  • But its plan to join the fray isn’t as decisive as Washington’s.
    — Carol Ryan, WSJ, 1 Feb. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'decisive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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