Meaning & use
a decisive person
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
someone who makes decisions quickly and confidently
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase: 'She is a decisive person.' The adjective 'decisive' describes the person.
Patterns
- a decisive person
- be a decisive person
- a decisive leader/manager
Maya is a decisive person; she never wastes time worrying.
A decisive person can make a choice even with little information.
The team needed a decisive person to lead the project.
Common combinations
- decisive person
- He is a decisive person who acts quickly.
- decisive leader
- The company hired a decisive leader to turn things around.
- decisive action
- The government took decisive action to stop the crisis.
- decisive moment
- It was a decisive moment in the game.
Synonyms and how they differ
- determined
- Focuses on strong will and not giving up, while 'decisive' focuses on making choices quickly.
- resolute
- More formal and suggests firm purpose; 'decisive' is about speed and confidence in deciding.
- assertive
- Means confident in expressing opinions; a decisive person may be quiet but still chooses fast.
Opposites
Word family
- decision noun
- a choice that you make
- decisively adverb
- in a way that shows quick, confident decision-making
- decisiveness noun
- the quality of making decisions quickly and confidently
Commonly confused: a decisive person or decisive vs. decision?
a decisive person vs decisive vs. decision
'Decisive' is an adjective describing a person or action; 'decision' is the noun for the choice itself. Say 'a decisive person', not 'a decision person'.
Practice
A good manager should be ______ when problems appear.
Choose one answer.
'Decisive' is the adjective needed after 'be'. 'Decision' is a noun, 'decide' is a verb, and 'decisively' is an adverb, so none fits the adjective slot.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a decisive person”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.