combative
part of speech
adjective (combative, more combative, most combative)
meaning for a pupil
1) Combative means ready and eager to fight or argue. tree →
2) In sport, combative means playing hard and strongly against the other side. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories it describes a character who always picks arguments; in sports reports it praises or criticises a tough player. It tells the reader that someone likes to fight or argue. Phrases: «combative mood», «combative style», «a combative player».
examples
- The combative goat butted everyone who came near. tree →
- He was in a combative mood and argued with everyone. tree →
- She is a combative tennis player who never gives up. tree →
- The debate became combative and loud. tree →
- Our dog is friendly, not combative. tree →
- Try not to be combative when someone disagrees with you. tree →
note
Stress: com-BAT-ive (UK) or COM-ba-tive. From «combat» (fighting). Not always bad: in sport it can mean brave and determined. Similar: aggressive, argumentative.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «combative» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.