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assertive

[uh-sur-tiv]
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adjective
  1. confidently aggressive or self-assured; positive: aggressive; dogmatic: He is too assertive as a salesman.
  2. having a distinctive or pronounced taste or aroma.
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Origin of assertive

First recorded in 1555–65; assert + -ive
Related formsas·ser·tive·ly, adverbas·ser·tive·ness, nounnon·as·ser·tive, adjectivenon·as·ser·tive·ly, adverbnon·as·ser·tive·ness, nouno·ver·as·ser·tive, adjectiveo·ver·as·ser·tive·ly, adverbo·ver·as·ser·tive·ness, nounpseu·do·as·ser·tive, adjectivepseu·do·as·ser·tive·ly, adverbun·as·ser·tive, adjectiveun·as·ser·tive·ly, adverbun·as·ser·tive·ness, noun

Synonyms

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1. forceful, decisive, forward.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for unassertive

Historical Examples

  • That the squatters did not themselves recognise the worth of one so unassertive was not to be wondered at.

    Australian Writers

    Desmond Byrne

  • He was an unassertive, unassuming man, with a genius for being inconspicuous.

  • Would not he too have been melancholy, quiet, unassertive, almost as uninteresting and uninterested as Booth was?

  • The Eversleighs were very fond of their house, and, in an unassertive way, proud of it.

  • Her beauty was not heightened now, but it was displayed with all the grave consciousness of an unassertive renown.

    Sinister Street, vol. 2

    Compton Mackenzie

British Dictionary definitions for unassertive

assertive

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
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Derived Formsassertively, adverbassertiveness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for unassertive

assertive

adj.

1560s, "declaratory, positive, full of assertion," from assert + -ive. Meaning "insisting on one's rights" is short for self-assertive (1865).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper