What does "assertive" mean?

Boldly self-assured; confident without being aggressive.

Assertive

Common synonyms include: absolute, affirmative, affirmatory, aggressive, aggressive person, assertative.

/əˈsɝtɪv/ adj

adj ·Moderate ·High school level

Adjective

1
Boldly self-assured; confident without being aggressive.
"Hence the ubiquity of Priapus himself as a sculptural representative of the generative principle, populated the Roman gardens, assertive in ithyphallic pose."
2
Pungent.
"an assertive taste or odor"

Adjective

"You need to learn to be assertive."

Borrowed from Medieval Latin assertīvus. Synchronically analyzable as assert + -ive.