To incise means to cut into something with precision and care, making a deliberate mark or opening. A surgeon incises skin to begin an operation, using a scalpel to make a clean, controlled cut exactly where it needs to be. An artist might incise a design into clay or wood, carving lines that create a pattern or image.

The word suggests careful, purposeful cutting rather than hacking or slashing. When archaeologists find pottery with incised decorations, they're looking at patterns someone carefully carved into the clay thousands of years ago. A printmaker incises lines into a metal plate to create an etching.

An incision is the cut itself: a surgeon makes an incision, while a dentist might make an incision in a gum. The word incisive describes something sharp and penetrating in a different way: an incisive comment cuts right to the heart of an issue, like when someone makes a point so clear and smart that it changes how everyone thinks about a problem.