Meaning & use
indecisive
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Finding it hard to make up your mind, or slow to commit to a choice.
Grammar: Describes a person, followed by about: indecisive about the menu.
Patterns
- indecisive about something
I am so indecisive that choosing a restaurant takes me half an hour.
The indecisive manager changed the plan three times.
She felt indecisive about which job to accept.
adjectivecomparableformal
Of a result or event, failing to produce a clear winner or a firm conclusion.
Grammar: Describes outcomes such as battles, votes or talks: an indecisive vote.
Patterns
- an indecisive result
The battle was indecisive, and both armies withdrew.
Another indecisive election left parliament deadlocked.
The experiment gave indecisive results, so they ran it again.
Word forms
| comparative | more indecisive |
|---|---|
| superlative | most indecisive |
Common combinations
- indecisive leader
- An indecisive leader can leave a team without direction.
- indecisive result
- The poll gave an indecisive result.
- feel indecisive
- I feel indecisive every time I order dessert.
- remain indecisive
- Voters remained indecisive until the final week.
- indecisive about
- He was indecisive about moving abroad.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hesitant
- Hesitant describes a pause caused by doubt at one moment, while indecisive describes a general habit of not choosing.
- undecided
- Undecided only says that no choice has yet been made, not that the person struggles to choose.
- inconclusive
- Inconclusive fits results and evidence, not a person's character.
- wavering
- Wavering suggests moving between options, and is more vivid than the plain indecisive.
Opposites
Word family
- indecision noun
- the state of being unable to choose
- indecisively adverb
- in an indecisive way
- indecisiveness noun
- the habit of being indecisive
- decisive adjective
- able to decide, or settling a matter
Commonly confused: indecisive or undecided?
indecisive vs undecided
Undecided is temporary, as in an undecided voter; indecisive is a lasting trait or a result that settles nothing.
Practice
The two sides fought for a week, but the battle was ____ and neither side gained ground.
Choose one answer.
Indecisive describes a result that does not settle anything. Decisive and conclusive are the opposite, and impulsive describes a person acting without thought.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “indecisive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.