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.
  • 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 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
  • While the songwriter only lived in the Twin Cities for one year, his days there were decisive.
    — Leo Deluca, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 May 2023
  • The players on the receiving ends of the passes weren’t decisive.
    — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 15 May 2024
  • Food will play a decisive role at Les Bains Gardians, too.
    — Lily Templeton, WWD, 15 June 2024
  • But in Ukraine, as winter sets in and the war enters its second year, time will prove decisive.
    — Elliot Ackerman, Time, 4 Jan. 2023
  • The look felt bold and decisive, pushing up against outdated ideas of what a pop star should look like.
    — André-Naquian Wheeler, Vogue, 13 Sep. 2022
  • The key issues Trump's campaign thrived on to hand him a decisive victory.
    — Fox News, 31 Dec. 2024
  • Today, on the heels of his decisive election victory, Trump is more popular than ever.
    — Maria Gracia Santillana Linares, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024

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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