The adjective decisive is used to describe important moments or actions that put an end to controversy or clarify a path forward—things that decide an outcome. It’s also applied to outcomes that are indisputable, as a decisive defeat, and to circumstances that point overwhelmingly toward a particular outcome, as a decisive lead in votes.

To find something is to locate or obtain it. To encounter something is to come upon it unexpectedly. Those who find something are usually looking for it, and may be delighted or relieved to find it. Those who encounter something—not so much! Confrontation and conflict accompany encounter in many contexts because the word entered English poised for battle; its earliest sense was “to meet in conflict,” as in “We will encounter the enemy at dawn.” Today, encounter is used less to talk about daybreak adversaries, and more about unforeseen obstacles and difficulties.

The adjective kind implies a deep-seated benevolence and sympathetic nature. Amiable emphasizes congeniality. Someone who is amiable is friendly, agreeable, and pleasant to be around. Amiable also connotes affability, or an easy manner that invites approach and conversation (someone who is affable is easy to talk to). Amiable is close in spelling and meaning to another well-intended adjective, amicable. But context is key: amicable usually describes friendliness or goodwill where there could otherwise be hostility.