How to Use combative in a Sentence

combative

adjective

• When the police tried to arrest him, he became combative.
• Hamby’s time on the board got off to a combative start.
  — Mark Olalde, ProPublica, 20 Nov. 2023
• These moves have left a lot of union members in a combative mood.
  — Brent Lang, Variety, 8 Feb. 2023
• The last time Pat saw Ron, there was none of the fire and brimstone of his more combative moments.
  — Max Olesker, Longreads, 13 July 2023
• The tenor in the union hall, however, was far more combative.
  — Jennifer Gonnerman, The New Yorker, 9 Jan. 2023
• And its combative tone seemed intended to strike a nerve.
  — Rachyl Jones, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2023
• Fain, elected president of the union this spring, has been the UAW’s most combative leader in years.
  — Lauren Kaori Gurley, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
• At times, Vance and his staff have been more directly combative with the media.
  — Freddy Brewster, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2022
• For Chiuri, these three women are a real-life version of Valkyries, the combative Norse deities who served the god Odin.
  — Allyson Portee, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2023
• While the flight crew was retrieving Narcan from the back of the plane, Burch became combative, the affidavit said.
  — Anchorage Daily News, 27 June 2023
• Kevin Hart: Chihuahua The combative, diminutive foil to his (mastiff) co-star.
  — Rohita Kadambi, The New Yorker, 8 Feb. 2024
• The entire album plays out this way, combining earnest lyrics with a combative sound.
  — Erica Campbell, SPIN, 30 Oct. 2023
• The Bulls had been assertive and combative throughout the first half, holding a double-digit lead into the locker room.
  — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 3 Mar. 2023
• As most observers agree, Los Angeles punk grew less fun with the arrival of a new more combative crowd, and the benign pogo gave way to the brutal slamdance.
  — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2023
• The world outside is combative and chaotic — if art is your refuge, this biennial is for you.
  — Martha Schwendener, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
• Others faced the kinds of challenges that regular users see in less combative Excel work.
  — Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 8 Aug. 2022
• And while the three have had combative exchanges on the debate stage, Friday's roundtable was polite and featured no crosstalk or insults.
  — Olivia Rinaldi, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2023
• Jones later took the stand and was initially combative with the judge, who had asked him to answer his own attorney's question.
  — Jim Vertuno, USA TODAY, 3 Aug. 2022
• The child was combative and had allegedly struck the school employee who was holding him down, police said.
  — Talal Ansari, WSJ, 13 Jan. 2023
• Biden appeared robust and combative throughout the address that went slightly over an hour.
  — Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024
• Hetsler became combative and started swinging his arms when the attendant tried to rouse him and get him back to his seat, the affidavit states.
  — Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Mar. 2023
• An officer noticed that the scan showed a hammer inside and attempted to look in the bag, but Snow grabbed it and became combative, police said.
  — Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024
• The normally combative Trump mentioned none of the challenges facing his party in his low-key, 67-minute speech at his resort estate in Palm Beach.
  — Mary Ellen Klas Miami Herald (tns), al, 16 Nov. 2022
• Still, the most radical and combative fringe of the settler movement has always believed that the Israeli government is engaged in a witch-hunt against them.
  — Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2023
• China’s relationship with the United States is set to grow more combative.
  — Lily Kuo and Christian Shepherd, Anchorage Daily News, 23 Oct. 2022
• The couple had two daughters but split up a few years later, as Mr. Coyner, still building his legal career, at times grew combative at home.
  — Mike Baker, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2023
• But Oher was far more combative in his Monday petition.
  — Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2023
• The transcript shows a combative Mr. Trump, who was named as a defendant in the case alongside his company and three of his children, at times barely allowing lawyers to get a word in.
  — William K. Rashbaum, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2023
• At his most combative, Rhodes is the fulsome commander in military gear acting as though a trip to a stadium is a journey through the heart of darkness.
  — Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2022
• But there's a lot of debate in the inner circle about how combative to be, including the use of the word protests in the former president social media language over the weekend.
  — CBS News, 19 Mar. 2023

Last Updated: 3 May 2024