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Decisive vs Competent - What's the difference?

decisive | competent |

As adjectives the difference between decisive and competent

is that decisive is having the power or quality of deciding a question or controversy; putting an end to contest or controversy; final; conclusive while competent is having sufficient skill, knowledge, ability, or qualifications.

decisive

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Having the power or quality of deciding a question or controversy; putting an end to contest or controversy; final; conclusive.
  • ''A decisive battle is fatal for one side's war chances
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=November 3 , author=Chris Bevan , title=Rubin Kazan 1 - 0 Tottenham , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=In truth, Tottenham never really looked like taking all three points and this defeat means they face a battle to reach the knockout stages -with their next home game against PAOK Salonika on 30 November likely to prove decisive .}}
  • Marked by promptness and decision.
  • A noble instance of this attribute of the decisive character. -J. Foster.

    Synonyms

    * decided * positive * conclusive

    Antonyms

    * indecisive

    Derived terms

    * decisively * decisiveness

    References

    * (Webster 1913) * ----

    competent

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Having sufficient skill, knowledge, ability, or qualifications.
  • He is a competent skier and an expert snowboarder.
  • (legal) Having jurisdiction or authority over a particular issue or question.
  • For any disagreements arising from this contract, the competent court shall be the Springfield Circuit Court.
    judicial authority having competent jurisdiction
  • Adequate for the purpose
  • * 1662 , , Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 67:
  • "For if [birds] had been Viviparous , the burthen of their womb, if they had brought forth any competent number at a time, had been so big and heavy, that their wings would have failed them "

    Quotations

    * "I believe in that myself because it has been explained by competent men as the convolutions of the grey matter." - James Joyce, Ulysses , 1922 * "That as a competent keyless citizen he had proceeded energetically from the unknown to the known through the incertitude of the void." - James Joyce, Ulysses , 1922