adj ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective

1. 1
   Given to fighting; disposed to engage in combat; pugnacious.

   "Their combative conduct leads to many problems."

Adjective

1. 1
   having or showing a ready disposition to fight wordnet
2. 2
   striving to overcome in argument wordnet
3. 3
   inclined or showing an inclination to dispute or disagree, even to engage in law suits wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

disputatiouspugnaciousaggressiveaggressiveagonisticagonistical

Antonyms

All antonyms

calmconflict-freedovishnonaggressive

Example

More examples

"The combative patient was given a tranquilizer."

Etymology

From combat + -ive.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.