as in particular
tending to select carefully
we were highly selective about the music we listened to while trying out loudspeakers
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Recent Examples of selective
Uncertainty reigns, even among the most selective colleges and universities.
—
Brennan Barnard, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
Tesla's website shares safety performance data about its assisted-driving system, but as with most companies, the data is selective, safety experts say.
—Joann Muller, Axios, 21 May 2025
Episodes of natural selection are sometimes ephemeral, and evidence of them vanishes from our genomes when the selective pressures subside or when populations mix.
—Kermit Pattison, Scientific American, 20 May 2025
Reducing Barriers To Account Usage With more options available than ever, today’s banking consumers can afford to be more selective.
—Visa Contributor, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for selective
Brennan Barnard, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
Tesla's website shares safety performance data about its assisted-driving system, but as with most companies, the data is selective, safety experts say.
—Joann Muller, Axios, 21 May 2025
Episodes of natural selection are sometimes ephemeral, and evidence of them vanishes from our genomes when the selective pressures subside or when populations mix.
—Kermit Pattison, Scientific American, 20 May 2025
Reducing Barriers To Account Usage With more options available than ever, today’s banking consumers can afford to be more selective.
—Visa Contributor, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for selective
Recent Examples of Synonyms for selective
Adjective
-
This year, in particular, organizers for pride events, including in San Francisco and Houston, are seeing corporate sponsors pull out or give less of financial support.—
Juliana Kim,
NPR,
28 May 2025
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This person’s crush probably has nothing to do with the grocery employee, but everything to do with a rush of brain chemicals that happened to occur in their particular brain coincidentally at that moment and in that space.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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While tariffs may lead to consumers being more choosy, Link said the overall macroeconomic picture still looks positive, bolstered by lower interest rates, a steady job market and strong consumer savings.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
4 Mar. 2025
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And by that time in her career, Salonga could be choosy.—
Robert Ito,
New York Times,
16 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The Braves are not in a position to be picky about defense.—
Lee Habeeb,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Apr. 2025
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Sometimes gratitude came easily, such as when Deb helped their kids, who were picky eaters, become more adventurous.—
Rhaina Cohen,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2025
Adjective
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From the outside, Lyons’s house is a textbook Baltimore row home with a modest porch made for relaxing on a nice day or having a smoke while you people-watch.—
Lawrence Burney,
Pitchfork,
28 May 2025
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Wilson completed a pass to Dee Eskridge, who made a nice one-handed catch with cornerback Kendall Sheffield in coverage.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Selective.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/selective. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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