decisiveness

UK/dɪˈsaɪsɪvnəs/

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,996 of 15,258neutral

Decisiveness is the ability to make up your mind quickly and firmly. Show decisiveness.

It is admired when the decision is right and called rashness when it is not. Decisiveness matters most where waiting costs more than being wrong.

Definitions of decisiveness

1noundecisivenessThe ability to make up your mind quickly and firmly.B2+
“The decisiveness in that first week saved the whole business.”

decisiveness is a quality.

Where it comes from

Middle French
décisif
English
decisive
English, today
decisiveness

From decisive + -ness. decisive comes from Middle French décisif, equivalent to decide + ive.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

decisiveness in the wild

Following his swift victory, Caesar famously declared, Veni, Vidi, Vici ("I came, I saw, I conquered"), emphasizing the speed and decisiveness of his triumph.
Battle of Zela (47 BC)
The Students' Union was praised for its decisiveness during a 2008 faculty strike.
St. Thomas University Students' Union
Reflecting the decisiveness of his statewide victory, Roosevelt carried 17 of the New Jersey's 21 counties with majorities of the vote, breaking 60% of the vote in five.
1936 United States presidential election in New Jersey
On the county level map, reflecting the decisiveness of his victory, Hoover won 20 of the state's 21 counties.
1928 United States presidential election in New Jersey

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the décisif family

decisive indecisive

decisiveness — used about once every 159,543 pages · #14,996 · point at the bar for the others

decide

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