2010.06.11
Decidedly v. Decisively
Strangely enough I find myself debating which of these words to use and when? Are they truly as interchangeable as their common use would have you believe?
Let’s begin with their definitions:
- Decidedly
- “without question and beyond doubt; resolutely”
- Decisively
- “in an indisputable degree; with finality, conclusively”
They sure sound a lot a like, in fact many thesaurus list them as synonyms.
If their definitions are so similar perhaps how they differ is by their part of speech? Unfortunately, no they’re both adverbs and are therefor used interchangeably.
So is their usage then left to preference?


