selective Definition
se·lec·tive (-tiv)
adjective
- of or characterized by selection
- having the power of selecting; tending to select
- tending to select carefully; fastidious; discriminating
- Radio excluding oscillations on all frequencies except the one desired
selective Related Forms
se·lec′·tively adverb
se·lec′·tive·ness noun
selective Synonyms
selective Usage Examples
Preposition: about
- regime: We are very selective about the evil regimes we wish to overthrow and the people we want to help, dont you think?
- card: Cost a player remain in a very selective about the cards they.
Adjective complement with noun phrase
make: Instead of truthful reporting, the agenda of advocacy journalism has sometimes made reporters highly selective, leading them to ignore inconvenient information.
Modifies a noun
- breeding: Both changes had been brought about by careful selective breeding.
- inhibitor: Cyclooxygenase 2 selective inhibitors: panacea or flash in the pan?
- herbicide: Repeated cutting for silage, high inputs of fertilizers and slurry, and selective herbicides serve to reduce diversity of both flora and fauna.
- modulator: In her final year, she carried out research on the toxicology of selective estrogen receptor modulators in the human endometrium.
- weedkiller: A large number are best treated with a general application of a selective weedkiller.
- mutism: Children who come from a bilingual background are slightly more likely to display selective mutism.
Modifying Another Word
- directionally: Note the temporal ramp will not generate adaptation in a directionally selective cell.
- highly: How could a new, publicly funded church school with a highly selective set of entry guidelines, be opening in 2003?
- partially: Partial selection In some parts of the country, schools which were comprehensive have become partially selective.
- wholly: Some will wish to select 20 or 30 or 40 per cent of their intake, others will wish to be wholly selective.
- somewhat: This is, to be sure, a somewhat selective understanding of what is entailed in doing theology.
- necessarily: The issues I have raised here are necessarily selective.
Used with adjective complement
- become: However, there are signs that credit card providers are becoming more selective about who gets the best deals.
- remain: The fact that the naturalism of this art remained selective is perhaps less surprising than it appears at first sight.
- include: I maintain a website on Singapore English ( including selective annotated bibliography ).
- call: Is forever calling very selective about would be dead.
Preposition: in
term: Should they contain a full account of the evidence or should they be more selective in terms of dissemination?

