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
One can make the case that many voters are also willing to be selective in their vision—the right’s defense of free speech gathered steam despite the Republican Party suffering from even more seemingly intractable internal contradictions on the issue.
—
Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
That makes the platform versatile enough for selective extraction of other resources, including cobalt and nickel.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2025
Still, long-standing military and technical ties such as training, maintenance, weapons sales and selective systems support offer Maduro a modest but valuable hedge against external pressure.
—Robert Muggah, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2025
Both parties increasingly weaponize selective statistics, exaggerated claims, or misleading framings to advance their own political ends.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for selective
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Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
That makes the platform versatile enough for selective extraction of other resources, including cobalt and nickel.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2025
Still, long-standing military and technical ties such as training, maintenance, weapons sales and selective systems support offer Maduro a modest but valuable hedge against external pressure.
—Robert Muggah, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2025
Both parties increasingly weaponize selective statistics, exaggerated claims, or misleading framings to advance their own political ends.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 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 6 Oct. 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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