Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use assertive in a sentence

15 example sentences · adjective, noun

Assertive means boldly self-assured; confident without being aggressive. Example: “Hence the ubiquity of Priapus himself as a sculptural representative of the generative principle, populated the Roman gardens, assertive in ithyphallic pose.”

Examples of assertive by meaning

adjectiveBoldly 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.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page iii

adjectivePungent.

  • an assertive taste or odor

nounAn assertion.

  • Proportionative assertives occur in styles of all kinds, from the least formal to the most formal.1971, Ralph B. Long, Dorothy R. Long, The System of English Grammar (page 113)

More sentences with assertive

  • During the veteran's absence, wives often become more independent and more assertive as heads of household.2012, Barry R. Schaller, Veterans on Trial: The Coming Court Battles Over PTSD. From the entry prewartime
  • He had no build and did not give off very assertive, let alone aggressive vibrations.1981 February 7, Nancy Walker, “A Gentle Guy”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 28, page 13. From the entry build
  • This plant is one of the most assertive and sweetest smelling of all herbs.1958 May 1, Craig Claiborne, “Popularity Increasing; Easy to Make at Home”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times…. From the entry sweet smelling
  • The feminists were so assertive as to conceive, announce, and establish a new definition of woman and, somewhat incidentally, of man.2006, Harvey Claflin Mansfield, Manliness, page 122. From the entry nondefinition
  • Consequently, depersonalizing and disinflaming the situation are prudent tactics: maintain a calm demeanor, look confident, and remain assertive.1999, Rosemary O'Leary, Managing for the Environment, page 125. From the entry disinflame
  • It's true he needn't have been so assertive about it.1996, Karel Čapek, “The Yacht on the Lagoon”, in M. Weatherall, R. Weatherall, transl., War with the Newts, Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern…. From the entry needn't
  • Even today, women who show signs of anger and who express themselves in some assertive way may be labelled stroppy for doing so.2010, Gillian Bloxham, W. Doyle Gentry, Anger Management For Dummies, UK edition. From the entry stroppy
  • Blogjects always have some form of agency — they can foment action and participate; they have an assertive voice within the social web.2006 March 14, Roland Piquepaille, “The new world of 'blogjects'”, in ZDNET, archived from the original on 26 Sep 2023. From the entry foment
  • He loved these breasts of hers, these assertive softnesses that seemed the signature of an immeasurate tenderness hidden behind the world but expressing itself here in full.1998, Rafi Zabor, The Bear Comes Home: A Novel, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 218. From the entry immeasurate
  • PirateSoftware's behavior is being labeled as "roaching out" online, that is, partaking in a conservative and passive playstyle that focuses on self-survival rather than taking an assertive and engaged role.2025 January 13, Atharv Kapoor, “What does "roach out" mean in World of Warcraft? Controversy explored as Sodapoppin weighs in on Pirate…. From the entry playstyle
  • Wolf-warrior diplomacy is a manifestation of Xi's effort to shift toward assertive diplomacy away from the low-profile diplomacy engineered by Deng and practised by Presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao.2022, Axel Berkofsky, Giulia Sciorati, editors, China’s Foreign Policies Today: Who is in Charge of What, Ledizioni, →ISBN. From the entry wolf warrior
  • Looking at the industry as a whole, I see a rich and diverse beer culture in America that offers everything from lightly flavored summer Kölsches to unbelievably assertive imperial IPAs.2003, The New Brewer, page 39. From the entry kölsch

Meaning of assertive

  1. adjective Boldly self-assured; confident without being aggressive.
  2. adjective Pungent.
  3. noun An assertion.

Full definition of assertive

Questions about assertive in a sentence

How do you use assertive in a sentence?
Assertive is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “Hence the ubiquity of Priapus himself as a sculptural representative of the generative principle, populated the Roman gardens, assertive in ithyphallic pose.”
What is a short sentence with assertive?
“an assertive taste or odor”
What does assertive mean?
Assertive means boldly self-assured; confident without being aggressive.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: assertive (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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