How to Use combative in a Sentence

combative

adjective
  • When the police tried to arrest him, he became combative.
  • These moves have left a lot of union members in a combative mood.
    — Brent Lang, Variety, 8 Feb. 2023
  • Nealy was even combative when the judge ordered him to raise his right hand.
    — Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 31 Mar. 2025
  • Which age groups are most amenable to in-person work, and which are most combative?
    — Jane Thier, Fortune, 16 May 2024
  • This is less combative but requires you to be always on the run.
    — Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2021
  • Yet his remarks, while combative, did not appear to close the door on a deal.
    — Ellen Knickmeyer, arkansasonline.com, 25 July 2024
  • Small, combative players who can win second balls will do the job.
    — Sam Lee, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
  • But there is a logic to Vance’s combative stance.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 12 Jan. 2026
  • The tenor in the union hall, however, was far more combative.
    — Jennifer Gonnerman, The New Yorker, 9 Jan. 2023
  • As the moon and Mars clash, be courageous, not combative.
    — Usa Today, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025
  • 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
  • For more combative puffer fishes, that response might look like fight.
    — Cassie Hurwitz, SELF, 24 Mar. 2026
  • Sancho doesn’t appear combative in the video, which doesn’t have sound.
    — oregonlive, 29 Aug. 2020
  • 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 got out of his car and was combative towards officers.
    — cleveland, 14 May 2021
  • Weight claims that Bartlett then stepped very close to him in a combative way, so Weight pushed him back.
    — Jack Greiner, Cincinnati.com, 11 June 2019
  • In exchanges that at times grew combative, each dismissed the concern.
    — Mitchell Forde | For The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 28 June 2022
  • Peter had declined rapidly in the last few months and had been manic and combative.
    — Lori Riley, courant.com, 27 Dec. 2021
  • But Obrador is taking a less combative approach on the eve of the election.
    — James Osborne, San Antonio Express-News, 29 June 2018
  • His response was candid, if not combative.
    — Lori Ewing, Reuters, 14 Sep. 2025
  • Those two words sit at the heart of a labor fight between players and owners that may soon grow more combative.
    — Evan Drellich, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025
  • At times, Vance and his staff have been more directly combative with the media.
    — Freddy Brewster, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2022
  • Fernandez was combative when asked if there was any long-term concern about the injury.
    — Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 May 2026
  • The slips added a subtle layer of tension to an already combative night.
    — Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Here are seven key takeaways from the combative hearing.
    — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 11 Feb. 2026
  • 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
  • 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
  • Bauer has been combative with the judge presiding over her case and claimed the court has no authority over her.
    — Michael Kunzelman, ajc, 28 July 2021
  • Not, of course, if the intention of the query is to justify rudeness or to be combative.
    — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 24 Nov. 2025
  • The man became verbally combative when deputies asked him to leave the home, the sheriff's office said.
    — Ann Zaniewski, Detroit Free Press, 4 July 2018

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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