assertive

[ uh-sur-tiv ]

adjective

1. confidently aggressive or self-assured; positive: aggressive; dogmatic:

   He is too assertive as a salesman.

   Synonyms: forward, decisive, forceful

2. having a distinctive or pronounced taste or aroma.

assertive

/ əˈsɜːtɪv /

adjective

1. confident and direct in claiming one's rights or putting forward one's views
2. given to making assertions or bold demands; dogmatic or aggressive

Derived Forms

• asˈsertively, adverb
• asˈsertiveness, noun

Other Words From

• as·sertive·ly adverb
• as·sertive·ness noun
• nonas·sertive adjective
• nonas·sertive·ly adverb
• nonas·sertive·ness noun
• over·as·sertive adjective
• over·as·sertive·ly adverb
• over·as·sertive·ness noun
• pseudo·as·sertive adjective
• pseudo·as·sertive·ly adverb
• unas·sertive adjective
• unas·sertive·ly adverb
• unas·sertive·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of assertive¹

First recorded in 1555–65; assert + -ive

Example Sentences

And, in all fairness to Lady Gaga, any singer who matches up with Tony Bennett needs to get loud and assertive.

From The Daily Beast

It tells me we need more women, and men, to raise their girls the way my parents raised me: to be assertive, confident and proud.

From The Daily Beast

He would recognize the angry, assertive tone of comments on web articles as the exact same tendency he identified in 1929.

From The Daily Beast

They are proving more assertive than ever before in demanding the rights that adults have until now failed to deliver.

From The Daily Beast

The goal is to make art more assertive, and more accessible to more people.

From The Daily Beast

She was more self-important and self-assertive, and Zizi wondered if she had learned something definite against some suspect.

From Project Gutenberg

Presently, with her alert, rather assertive blue eyes she saw Kitty, and came forward.

From Project Gutenberg

This discussion is necessarily didactic and assertive for it is impossible to prove or disprove any of these postulates.

From Project Gutenberg

He was an absolute positivist; his positivism did not make him self-assertive nor peremptory; on the contrary, it oppressed him.

From Project Gutenberg

His taste in literature was uniformly bad, but very definite, and far more assertive than his views on biological questions.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• confident
• decisive
• emphatic
• forceful
• insistent
• pushy
• self-assured
• self-confident