How to Use combative in a Sentence

combative

adjective
Definition of combativenext
Synonyms for combativenext
  • When the police tried to arrest him, he became combative.
  • When a Black woman speaks up to advocate for herself, she is often marked as angry and combative by medical staff.
    — Tiffany Eve Lawrence, Glamour, 19 Nov. 2020
  • Do Democrats want a combative party leader or someone more tactical and engaged with current voter trends?
    — David Paleologos, USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2025
  • Known as a fiery player and coach, Mr. Heinsohn was often combative toward referees.
    — Washington Post, 11 Nov. 2020
  • Canada: Pierre Poilievre, a combative populist politician, is the favorite to become the country’s next leader.
    — Natasha Frost, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025
  • The Senate and House must join forces to ensure that an aggrieved, combative lame-duck president is not allowed to cause further havoc on his way out.
    — Editorial Board Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 7 Nov. 2020
  • America First policies made huge inroads with some Connecticut voters, but his combative persona turned off many others.
    — Michael Hamad, courant.com, 17 Nov. 2020
  • Journalists started bombarding the coup plotters with more combative questions, and the plotters themselves suddenly looked like lost, hungover men in ill-fitting suits.
    — Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2020
  • 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
  • Which age groups are most amenable to in-person work, and which are most combative?
    — Jane Thier, Fortune, 16 May 2024
  • Both sides will need to ask questions that help rein in the combative and focus on the result.
    — Simon S. Mass, Forbes, 24 May 2021
  • The man, who became conscious was then combative with paramedics and officers, and spit in the eye of one of the paramedics.
    — cleveland, 3 Mar. 2021
  • This is less combative but requires you to be always on the run.
    — Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2021
  • Hayes got combative with cops and a fight broke out ... with the ex-Texas Longhorns star getting tased in the middle of the scuffle.
    — Dave Clark, The Enquirer, 29 July 2021
  • Yet his remarks, while combative, did not appear to close the door on a deal.
    — Ellen Knickmeyer, arkansasonline.com, 25 July 2024
  • By the end of the season, he was being booed by the Lakers fans and became combative with the media.
    — Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2022
  • Perhaps some of these younger toughs will yet have time to find less combative ways to rise in status.
    — Susan Pinker, WSJ, 5 May 2022
  • 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
  • The man got out of his car and was combative towards officers.
    — cleveland, 14 May 2021
  • 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
  • Porsche boss Oliver Blume is the new boss, with a less combative management style.
    — David Meyer, Fortune, 25 July 2022
  • Peter had declined rapidly in the last few months and had been manic and combative.
    — Lori Riley, courant.com, 27 Dec. 2021
  • But, given how rude and combative Whitney has been — and how rude Lisa has been in return — that’s hard to believe.
    — Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 Oct. 2021
  • Its people still boast a tough, combative way of speaking.
    — Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 7 June 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'combative.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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