decisiveness

noun

Definition of decisivenessnext
as in determination
firm or unwavering adherence to one's purpose moved with speed and decisiveness in investigating the charges of the use of excessive force by the police

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of decisiveness Apple gets a new CEO who is expected to bring back Jobs-era decisiveness. — Menaka Doshi, Bloomberg, 21 Apr. 2026 The final was 4-0, which undersold its decisiveness. — Dan Greene, New Yorker, 12 June 2026 The encounter is ostensibly intended to demonstrate the kind of ruthless decisiveness that Eisenhower would have needed in wartime. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 May 2026 This perhaps was the England football team’s own equivalent, for the decisiveness, for the individuality of it, and above all for the power. — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 1 July 2026 Following his Game 1 sluggishness, Wembanyama played with more aggression and decisiveness. — Mark Medina, Forbes.com, 6 June 2026 Legal experts say the speed and decisiveness of the Department of Justice’s proposed antitrust settlement with OhioHealth should put other hospitals on notice. — Tara Bannow, STAT, 17 June 2026 But Pressure is less a war story, rapt with the hysteria of battlefield deeds, than an intense exposition on the human capacity to tolerate uncertainty at a time when decisiveness is an imperative for action. — Daniel Jonah Wolpert, NPR, 29 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decisiveness
  1. determination
  2. decision
  3. resolve
  4. persistence
  5. resoluteness
Noun
  • But as far as their defensive commitment goes, and their sheer determination to see the game plan through, Paraguay deserve at least a little credit for almost shutting an incredible team down.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 5 July 2026
  • For 250 years, Americans have overcome every challenge with grit, resilience, and determination.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 4 July 2026
Definition of determination
Noun
  • James is an unrestricted free agent and the early timing of his decision allows the Lakers to approach free agency, which officially began Tuesday afternoon, with an almost clean slate.
    — Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • Gaines said the decision felt like the culmination of the last several years of her life, but also a reminder of how far the debate had moved.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of decision
Noun
  • And so the trick for Putin will likely be to try to find a mechanism to disrupt and upset, without forcing a conventional test of transatlantic resolve.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • The month Arrighetti just endured tested his resolve like few before it.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of resolve
Noun
  • Scientists say that difference in scale and persistence means history does not guarantee a repeat outcome, even as El Niño is expected to strengthen through the fall and add another layer of ocean warming.
    — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 2 July 2026
  • But that persistence and learning became the foundation of my organization.
    — Mikhail Shneyder, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of persistence
Noun
  • His loving, pragmatic wife, Mi-ri (Son Ye-jin), gamely downsizes their middle-class life to fit their new reality — but her resoluteness only exacerbates his despair.
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025
Definition of resoluteness

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Cite this Entry

“Decisiveness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decisiveness. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on decisiveness

Nglish: Translation of decisiveness for Spanish Speakers

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