as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
channeling his naturally combative impulses into sports
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Recent Examples of combative
Installed throughout Wembley Park–including along Olympic Way and outside Wembley Stadium–the exhibition provides a rare glimpse into the early relationship between the famously combative siblings who powered Oasis to global stardom.
—
Lee Sharrock, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025
The report says McNeil immediately became verbally combative, refused to exit, provide ID, or listen to the stop’s explanation, locked the door, and ignored several warnings before the window was broken.
—Melissa Noel, Essence, 22 July 2025
Even when Gordon’s songs don’t make narrative sense, they are underpinned by feelings of dread, longing, and frustration; some of them are nearly combative.
—Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 21 July 2025
This week, Alina Habba, who was among Trump’s most notoriously combative criminal defense lawyers, is a likely casualty: Judges in New Jersey are nearly certain to nix any extension of her expiring interim term as the district’s U.S. attorney.
—Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 21 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for combative
Lee Sharrock, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025
The report says McNeil immediately became verbally combative, refused to exit, provide ID, or listen to the stop’s explanation, locked the door, and ignored several warnings before the window was broken.
—Melissa Noel, Essence, 22 July 2025
Even when Gordon’s songs don’t make narrative sense, they are underpinned by feelings of dread, longing, and frustration; some of them are nearly combative.
—Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 21 July 2025
This week, Alina Habba, who was among Trump’s most notoriously combative criminal defense lawyers, is a likely casualty: Judges in New Jersey are nearly certain to nix any extension of her expiring interim term as the district’s U.S. attorney.
—Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 21 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for combative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combative
Adjective
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Potential Fed chair David Zervos backs an aggressive rate cut.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
15 Aug. 2025
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Poor oral hygiene allows plaque bacteria to produce acids that contribute to decay, while aggressive brushing can physically wear away the enamel surface.—
Thomas Westerholm,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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While some agree with early views of student protestors that Israel is carrying out a campaign of cruelty and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, others insist Hamas, the militant group in control of the region, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7, sparking the war, is solely responsible for the suffering.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
5 Aug. 2025
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Videos released by the militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad last week showed hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski in a visibly fragile state – images that galvanized a forceful reaction both at home and abroad.—
Dana Karni,
CNN Money,
3 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In recent weeks, both have also moved military forces to the border near Assab and are engaging in escalating exchanges of hostile rhetoric.—
Mulugeta Gebrehiwot Berhe,
Foreign Affairs,
5 Aug. 2025
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Meanwhile, Trump has moved closer to Pakistan, with which India has hostile relations and the U.S. has historically had a complex and sometimes tense relationship, especially as Pakistan has grown closer to and is primarily armed by China.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Elsewhere in the Bay Area, San Francisco Playhouse is wrapping up a one-person show that leads audiences to consider their feelings and beliefs about the profoundly contentious Israel-Gaza conflict, even though it’s mostly meant to be a personal story.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
7 Aug. 2025
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Instead of a more contentious disagreement, which could have necessitated a final ruling from commissioner Roger Goodell, the two sides ultimately settled on an agreement to share the equity.—
Eben Novy-Williams,
Sportico.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The record indicates that the instant offense has elements of brutality, violence, assaultive behavior or conscious selection of victim's vulnerability indicating a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others, such that the offender poses a continuing threat to public safety.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Mar. 2025
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The effect is assaultive but clever, jolting listeners’ reflexes and then toying with their attention.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Combative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combative. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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