nonassertive

adjective

Definition of nonassertivenext
1
as in nonemphatic

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words
2
as in low-pressure

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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 nonassertive People who knew Zhang described him to police as a nonassertive man who avoided conflict and typically acquiesced to his wife. — Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2021 Those who saw an assertive ad chose to allocate $7 of the gift card to the brand on average, compared with $14 for those who saw a nonassertive ad. — Alina Dizik, WSJ, 16 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonassertive
  1. unemphatic
  2. low-pressure
  3. mild
  4. unassertive
  5. ambiguous
  6. sluggish
  7. guarded
  8. sleepy
Adjective
  • The beat is steady and usually unemphatic; the song circles through three chords again and again.
    — Jon Pareles, New York Times, 6 July 2018
  • This 1991 feature, the second by Mexican filmmaker Maria Novaro, is leisurely paced and unemphatic but firmly conceived and executed, with a lot of feeling for female solidarity.
    — Patrick Friel, Chicago Reader, 17 Apr. 2018
Definition of unemphatic
Adjective
  • Some dogs with severe dog anxiety may need to start with low-pressure options like scatter feeding before moving to more stimulating activities like a structured sniffari or formal scent work.
    — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 July 2026
  • Spray the cleaner onto the concrete surface using a low-pressure nozzle, following the instructions on the container.
    — Caitlin Sole, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 July 2026
Definition of low-pressure
Adjective
  • The humidity lifts, replaced by bright, mild days made for the historic streets of Savannah and Charleston, or the maritime forests and salt marshes beyond them.
    — Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • Scattered over the top were generous pebbles of queso panela, mild, milky and squeaky like halloumi.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
Definition of mild
Adjective
  • This film, so seemingly unassertive, apparently rambling and plotless, has a devastating impact and aftershock.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative, where an individual tends to give up on their own needs and acquiesce to the desires of others by disengaging from the situation altogether.
    — Ellen Choi, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025
Definition of unassertive
Adjective
  • Vermeule—a former clerk for Scalia—proposes that conservatives should read the Constitution’s ambiguous phrases and general structure in an openly moral way, drawing on principles grounded in the nature and purposes of government.
    — Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 2 July 2026
  • Without a unified, clean, and accessible data structure, AI outputs quickly become ambiguous, hallucinated, and diluted, deepening the clarity crisis rather than resolving it.
    — Ali Hoss, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of ambiguous
Adjective
  • Many competitors often report feeling sluggish, sleepy, or uncomfortable afterward.
    — Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • Merz’s coalition of center-right and center-left parties took office just over a year ago with pledges to reform and turn around Germany’s sluggish economy, Europe’s biggest.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 July 2026
Definition of sluggish
Adjective
  • When that happens, people become more guarded, less open and less willing to engage.
    — Tony Gambill, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Our spirits remain guarded, but high, for this one; the Venice Film Festival crowd seemed to eat it up.
    — Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 3 Sep. 2024
Definition of guarded
Adjective
  • His long white oval scleras and perfect-circle black pupils, sometimes open and sometimes closed, are always inexplicably expressive—managing to seem happy, sad, scared, sleepy, shifty, angry, eager, alarmed, mischievous, or murderous.
    — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 7 July 2026
  • Hualde says that some Pamplona residents rue his early promotion of the festival due to the ills of overtourism the sleepy provincial city is now experiencing.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 July 2026
Definition of sleepy

Browse Nearby Words

nonartistic
nonassertive
nonathletic
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Nonassertive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonassertive. Accessed 9 Jul. 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 tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

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
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All