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Decisive vs Effective - What's the difference?

decisive | effective |

As adjectives the difference between decisive and effective

is that decisive is while effective is having the power to produce a required effect or effects.

As a noun effective is

(military) a soldier fit for duty.

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

    Related terms

    * decidable * decided

    References

    * (Webster 1913) * ----

    effective

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Having the power to produce a required effect or effects.
    • The pill is an effective method of birth control.
  • Producing a decided or decisive effect.
    • The president delivered an effective speech!
  • * Jeremy Taylor
    • Whosoever is an effective , real cause of doing his neighbour wrong, is criminal.
  • Efficient, serviceable, or operative, available for useful work.
    • How long does it take to make a bunch of civilians an effective military force?
    My effective income after taxes and child support is $500 a month.
    The effective radiated power is determined by multiplying the transmitter power output with the antenna gain.
    The effective voltage of an alternating current is 0.7 times its peak voltage.
  • Actually in effect.
    • The curfew is effective at midnight.
  • Having no negative coefficients.

    • Related terms

    * effect * effectivity * effectual * efficacious * efficacity * efficacy * efficiency * efficient

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (military) A soldier fit for duty.
  • *1876 , , Recollections of the Elkhorn Campaign :
  • *:The Army of the West reached Corinth sometime after the battle of Shiloh. We were 15,000 effectives , and brought Beauregard's effective force up to 45,000 men.
    • ----