combative

combative

See also: combatative

English

Etymology

    From combat + -ive.

    Pronunciation

    • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkɒm.bə.tɪv/, (uncommon) /kɒmˈbæ.tɪv/
      • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • (US) IPA(key): /kəmˈbæ.tɪv/, /ˈkɑm.bə.tɪv/
      • Audio (US):(file)

    Adjective

    combative (comparative more combative, superlative most combative)

    1. Given to fighting; disposed to engage in combat; pugnacious.
      Their combative conduct leads to many problems.
      • 2013, The Ultimate Daily Show and Philosophy:
        He finds, not “demigods” but “a combative group of exhausted, drunken, broken, petty, partisan, scheming, squabbling, bloviating, sensory-deprived, underoxygenated, fed-up, talked-out, overheated delegates so distraught they threatened violence, secession.
      • 2021 October 12, Jamie Lyall, “Faroe Islands 0-1 Scotland”, in BBC Sport[1]:
        Salvation arrived - as it so often has in this nerve-shredding campaign - through Dykes, the combative striker.

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Translations

    French

    Pronunciation

    Adjective

    combative

    1. feminine singular of combatif