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View synonyms for combative

combative

[ kuhm-bat-iv, kom-buh-tiv, kuhm- ]

adjective

  1. ready or inclined to fight; pugnacious:

    He displayed a most unpleasant, combative attitude.



combative

/ ˈkɒmbətɪv; ˈkʌm- /

adjective

  1. eager or ready to fight, argue, etc; aggressive


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Derived Forms

  • ˈcombatively, adverb
  • ˈcombativeness, noun

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Other Words From

  • com·bative·ly adverb
  • com·bative·ness com·ba·tiv·i·ty [kom-b, uh, -, tiv, -i-tee], noun
  • uncom·bative adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of combative1

First recorded in 1825–35; combat + -ive

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Example Sentences

“We know how to fight, but we need weapons,” said Duarte, whose combative spirit remains undiminished by age.

“I think if you get combative and overly objecting, people are going to begin to get suspicious,” Edwards told me.

When Sara took her case before a panel of faculty members, she said she found them combative and insensitive.

As Gondry asks Chomsky about his childhood, the answer soon becomes clear: a skeptical, inquisitive, combative mind.

Like Socrates, Street Epistemologists are to understand themselves as inquisitive teachers, not combative lecturers.

During the reign of Mr. Cousins there was a rupture at the place, and many combative letters were written with reference to it.

Dick's rather combative look changed instantly into shamefacedness, and he shook hands again.

The little woman was so combative and incisive that this always seemed a necessary precaution on the part of that gentleman.

Many a woman is antagonistic, is combative, because she is forced into such a position, not because she herself desires it.

It is combative—in the sense that it shapes nature's forces—and it calls for a sense of artistry in its practitioners.

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