combative
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does combative mean? Combative means inclined to fight or prone to being argumentative.It’s especially used to describe someone who has become defensive and is disputing things in a belligerent way. It’s not commonly applied to someone who’s prone to starting physical fights.It can also be used to describe situations in which someone or multiple people are acting this way, such as a combative press conference or a combative meeting. The word combatant is commonly used as a noun meaning one of the sides engaged in a fight, but it can also be used as an adjective meaning the same thing as combative.Example: The senator became combative when faced with some tough questions during the town hall meeting.
Other Word Forms
- combatively adverb
- combativeness noun
- combativity noun
- uncombative adjective
Etymology
Origin of combative
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
During Musk's testimony before the jury, he was more combative with lawyers representing the class of investors.
From BBC
Vlasto lives in the Manhattan district Bores is running in, and became known for a combative approach to dealing with the New York press corps when working for Cuomo in the early 2010s.
Islas, who said he has been diagnosed with autism, maintained he wasn’t doing anything combative that night.
From Los Angeles Times
Ms. Hughes plays Ruth with a combative defensiveness, and not a little contempt, as she listens with incredulity to Jay’s obvious ignorance of the Troubles.
Mullin is known on Capitol Hill for not holding back, a style of speaking that some describe as combative.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
