combative.

Inclined to respond through confrontation or forceful dispute.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• combative tone
• combative response

On the page

The combative tone made cooperation harder than the disagreement itself.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychology / human behavior. Forms: Comparative more combative; superlative most combative when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: character, behavior. Commonness: moderately common.