selective
adjective
se·lec·tive
sə-ˈlek-tiv 
2
: highly specific in activity or effect
selective pesticides
selective absorption
Synonyms of selective
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
Speaking earlier this month at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, Netflix chief financial officer Adam Neumann was characteristically on-message, reiterating that the company’s philosophy on live sports is to remain hyper-selective about its commitments.
—
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 25 Mar. 2026
For decades, Chevrolet’s halo car has been the Corvette, which showcases innovations like dual-clutch transmission and magnetic selective-ride control, a feature that reads the road and adjusts shock absorbers.
—Jon McNeill, Big Think, 25 Mar. 2026
The membrane could also enable selective separation of ions with the same electric charge by exploiting subtle differences in how ions behave under an electric field.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 23 Mar. 2026
People who want to boycott [Israel] need to be much more selective.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 23 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for selective
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Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 25 Mar. 2026
For decades, Chevrolet’s halo car has been the Corvette, which showcases innovations like dual-clutch transmission and magnetic selective-ride control, a feature that reads the road and adjusts shock absorbers.
—Jon McNeill, Big Think, 25 Mar. 2026
The membrane could also enable selective separation of ions with the same electric charge by exploiting subtle differences in how ions behave under an electric field.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 23 Mar. 2026
People who want to boycott [Israel] need to be much more selective.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 23 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for selective
Cite this Entry
“Selective.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/selective. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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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