combative

adjective

kəm-ˈba-tiv How to pronounce combative (audio)
Definition of combativenext
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight channeling his naturally combative impulses into sports

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of combative With the midterm election just weeks away, Democrats laced into Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a combative House hearing Tuesday. — Matt Peterson, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2026 Earlier in the day, UAE Team Emirates’ Kevin Vermaerke once again made his way into the day’s breakaway, the 25-year-old American having proven himself one of the most combative riders in the race after team leader Tadej Pogačar’s withdrawal. — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026 Suno, which has had a highly combative relationship with the music industry in recent years. — Jem Aswad, Variety, 8 Sep. 2026 One year later, after being combative and guarded in his rookie season, that armor appears to be coming off. — Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for combative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combative
  1. aggressive
  2. militant
  3. hostile
  4. contentious
  5. confrontational
  6. assaultive
Adjective
  • These two phases of work are joined by Serra’s implicit disavowal of abstraction as a form of imagemaking in favor of an object’s aggressive purchase on the real.
    — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Her challenger is Herb Morgan, a Republican from San Diego who promises a more aggressive approach to the job.
    — Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of aggressive
Adjective
  • Israel said the overnight strike targeted Izz al-Din Bik, a commander in the Hamas militant group.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The militant group took over roughly one-third of Iraq after key Iraqi army divisions collapsed and retreated in the onslaught.
    — Jane Arraf, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of militant
Adjective
  • In a hostile divorce proceeding, the first camp to attack has a major advantage.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The mission’s goal is to evaluate how the chips fare during the launch, as well as in the hostile space environment.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of hostile
Adjective
  • The Bears are pursuing a contentious move to Indiana, where state officials have offered over $1 billion in public support to build a new stadium in the northeast city of Hammond, just on the other side of the Illinois border.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Mulambo Haimbe said Washington had agreed to remove contentious data-sharing provisions.
    — Yinka Adegoke, semafor.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of contentious
Adjective
  • The environment around Venus at the top of the month is pointed, confrontational, and probably a bit rage-inducing.
    — Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The incident came as agitators against immigration adopt a confrontational new tactic of trying to stop the boats landing on England’s shores, clashing with police and rescue workers in the process.
    — Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of confrontational
Adjective
  • The use of force is allowed under certain conditions, according to the personnel board’s order, including when an inmate could be assaultive or hurt themselves — which led Green to dismiss CDCR’s allegation against the officer.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 29 July 2026
  • As Molloy gradually succeeds in puncturing Lestat’s aloof, arrogant outer shell, his sound correspondingly shifts from assaultive punk to more contemplative ballads.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 7 June 2026
Definition of assaultive

Browse Nearby Words

combating
combative
combativeness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Combative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combative. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of heterodox

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All