combative

adjective

com·​bat·​ive kəm-ˈba-tiv 

: marked by eagerness to fight or contend

combatively adverb

combativeness noun

Synonyms

• aggressive
• agonistic
• argumentative
• assaultive
• bellicose
• belligerent
• brawly
• chippy
• confrontational
• contentious
• discordant
• disputatious
• feisty
• gladiatorial
• militant
• pugnacious
• quarrelsome
• scrappy
• truculent
• warlike

Examples of combative in a Sentence

When the police tried to arrest him, he became combative.

channeling his naturally combative impulses into sports

Recent Examples on the Web

Incompatible partners, on harder days, may consistently feel resentful, combative or simply annoyed in one another’s presence. —Mark Travers, Forbes, 4 Jan. 2025

Insiders describe relations between her and brother Santo as tense and combative. —Mattia Dognini, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Jan. 2025

Some in the Washington press corps have told The Hill in recent weeks Trump’s selection of Leavitt telegraphs a doubling down on the more combative rhetoric with the press that came to define Trump’s first term. —Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 29 Dec. 2024

Few artists have as honest and combative of a relationship with listeners as Tyler. —Rembert Browne, Billboard, 11 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1826, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

combative

adjective

com·​bat·​ive kəm-ˈbat-iv 

: eager to fight : pugnacious

combativeness noun