selective
adjective
se·lec·tive
sə-ˈlek-tiv 
2
: highly specific in activity or effect
selective pesticides
selective absorption
Examples of selective in a Sentence
The club is selective in choosing members.
The college has a highly selective admissions process.
Recent Examples on the Web
Smith said that the county, which has gone through years of budget tightening, is not OK with paying its workers below median rates, but has had to be selective in which positions to fund more comparably to similar counties.
—
Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 31 Oct. 2025
Her hunt for vengeance is not always selective, but it is aimed, always, at Armacham.
—Will Borger, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
Admission is selective, with an application process modeled on competitive college programs.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
Founded in 2019, the agency represents a selective roster of creators, including Julia Haller, Layna Sacino, Jonathan Akamba, Carla Cournot, Kobi Miles and Pierangelo Barone, among others.
—Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for selective
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Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 31 Oct. 2025
Her hunt for vengeance is not always selective, but it is aimed, always, at Armacham.
—Will Borger, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
Admission is selective, with an application process modeled on competitive college programs.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
Founded in 2019, the agency represents a selective roster of creators, including Julia Haller, Layna Sacino, Jonathan Akamba, Carla Cournot, Kobi Miles and Pierangelo Barone, among others.
—Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for selective
Cite this Entry
“Selective.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/selective. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
selective
adjective
se·lec·tive
sə-ˈlek-tiv
: of or relating to selection : selecting or tending to select
selective shoppers
Medical Definition
selective
adjective
se·lec·tive
sə-ˈlek-tiv
2
: highly specific in activity or effect
selective pesticides
selective permeability of a plasma membrane
selectively
adverb
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