Meaning & use
divisive
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparabledisapproving
Likely to cause strong disagreement that splits people into opposing groups.
Grammar: Usually no comparative; say highly divisive rather than more divisive in careful writing.
Patterns
- a divisive issue
- divisive rhetoric
- prove divisive
The new tax became a divisive issue in the election.
His divisive remarks angered both managers and staff.
The policy proved divisive within the club.
Common combinations
- divisive issue
- Housing costs are a divisive issue in many cities.
- divisive rhetoric
- The candidate avoided divisive rhetoric during the debate.
- highly divisive
- The merger plan was highly divisive among employees.
- prove divisive
- The schedule change may prove divisive.
Synonyms and how they differ
- polarizing
- Very close in meaning; often stresses driving people to opposite extremes.
- controversial
- Causes debate, but a topic can be controversial without splitting a group into camps.
- splitting
- Informal; suggests breaking unity, while divisive is more formal and evaluative.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: divisive or decisive? divisive or diverse?
divisive vs decisive
Decisive means clear, firm, or settling an outcome; divisive means causing splits.
divisive vs diverse
Diverse means varied; divisive describes conflict, not variety.
Practice
Which option best completes: “The funding cut was ____ because it split the board into two camps.”
Choose one answer.
The clue “split the board into two camps” matches divisive. Decisive would mean it settled matters, diverse would mean varied, and delicate would mean needing care without implying group conflict.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “divisive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.