dispositive
adjective
dis·pos·i·tive
| \ di-ˈspä-zə-tiv
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Definition of dispositive
: directed toward or effecting disposition (as of a case)
dispositive evidence
Examples of dispositive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Get our daily newsletter First, a caveat: polls this early are far from dispositive. — J.e.f. | Washington, The Economist, "How the Democratic field is narrowing," 3 Sep. 2019 Subscribe That may seem like an antiquated approach in an age of ever-improving DNA technology; some 350 men and women have now been freed thanks to its dispositive power. — Barbara Bradley Hagerty, The Atlantic, "Can You Prove Your Innocence Without DNA?," 6 Mar. 2018 Delayed disclosure of abuse is common so this is not dispositive. — WSJ, "‘This Case Is Even Weaker Than That’," 1 Oct. 2018 But the court here said statements by the president during the campaign were not dispositive. — Fox News, "Mike Huckabee: Peter Fonda ought to be in jail," 27 June 2018 The skids were further greased by the ease of accommodating feelings as dispositive in human events. — WSJ, "Feelings Are Fine, But a Consensus Is Divine," 8 May 2018 Rather, the dispositive point is that the local government conforms to the requirement that only law enforcement officers and traffic infraction enforcement officers — rather than employees of a vendor — may issue traffic citations. — Wire Reports, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Red-light cameras can stay, Florida Supreme Court rules," 3 May 2018 The two judges who decided this case are both named Edith, which is weird, but not dispositive. — Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, "Asking Financial Advisers to Act in Their Clients' Best Interest Is 'Unreasonable' Now," 16 Mar. 2018 Maybe that's a smidge low, but top eight doesn't sound quite right, either, for a group whose dispositive performance virtues in Big East play were outstanding defensive rebounding and a highly favorable disparity in free throws. — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc: Where Billy Hamilton, Amir Garrett, Joey Votto and the rest of the Cincinnati Reds stand," 6 Mar. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dispositive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for dispositive
dispositive
adjective
dis·pos·i·tive
| \ dis-ˈpä-zə-tiv
\
\
Legal Definition of dispositive
1
: directed toward or effecting a disposition (as of a case)
an endless variety of dispositive…pretrial motions— Robert Shaw-Meadow
2
: relating to a disposition of property
dispositive words in a will
3
: providing a final resolution (as of an issue) : having control over an outcome
dispositive of the question