decisiveness

[ dih-sahy-siv-nis ]

noun

1. the quality of determining an outcome or of settling or resolving a question:

   All the facts point to the decisiveness of that battle, to it being the turning point of the war.

2. the characteristic or practice of deciding or acting without hesitation; resoluteness:

   When buying real estate, decisiveness and patience are a rare but valuable and complementary combination.

3. the quality of being unquestionable or definite:

   This was the team’s most complete effort yet, as demonstrated by the decisiveness of the win—an impressive 62–21!

Other Words From

• non·de·ci·sive·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of decisiveness¹

decisive ( def ) + -ness ( def )

Example Sentences

The evaluator's rubric has six criteria to consider when determining the scores of the interview: intimacy, social desirability, general job abilities, decisiveness, cooperativeness and overall hireability.

From Science Daily

His confidence and decisiveness allow a listener to hear a piece’s architecture, the way individual figures become phrases and then entire sections.

From New York Times

Erdogan accused the West of hypocrisy for failing to respond to what he called Israel's "intentional massacre" in Gaza with the same decisiveness as it did to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

From Reuters

The Syrian military accused insurgents “backed by known international forces” of carrying out the attack and said “it will respond with full force and decisiveness to these terrorist organizations, wherever they exist.”

From Seattle Times

Without naming any particular group, the military accused insurgents “backed by known international forces” for the attack and said “it will respond with full force and decisiveness to these terrorist organizations, wherever they exist.”

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• assertiveness
• firmness
• willpower