assertive

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin assertīvus. Synchronically analyzable as assert +‎ -ive.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈsɝtɪv/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

assertive (comparative more assertive, superlative most assertive)

1. Boldly self-assured; confident without being aggressive.
   • 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page iii:

     Hence the ubiquity of Priapus himself as a sculptural representative of the generative principle, populated the Roman gardens, assertive in ithyphallic pose.

2. Pungent.

   an assertive taste or odor

Derived terms

• assertively
• assertiveness
• hyperassertive
• nonassertive
• overassertive
• self-assertive
• subassertive
• unassertive
• underassertive

Related terms

• assertative

Translations

boldly self-assured — see also categorical,‎ energetic,‎ firm

• Bulgarian: самоуверен (bg) (samouveren), настоятелен (bg) (nastojatelen), напорист (naporist)
• Catalan: assertiu (ca)
• Czech: asertivní, průbojný, kategorický (cs), rozhodný (cs), důrazný
• Danish: assertiv, selvsikker
• Dutch: assertief (nl), mondig (nl)
• Esperanto: ordonema
• Finnish: itsevarma (fi), jämäkkä (fi)
• French: assuré (fr), assertif (fr)
• Galician: asertivo m
• German: assertiv (de), selbstbewusst (de), durchsetzungsfähig, bestimmt (de), affirmativ (de), bejahend (de), positiv (de), zuversichtlich (de), forsch (de), assertiv (de), herausfordernd (de), dogmatisch (de), auffallend (de)
• Hebrew: אַסֶרְטִיבִי (he) (asertívi)
• Irish: forránach
• Italian: assertivo (it)
• Macedonian: самоу́верен (samoúveren), у́тврден (útvrden)
• Māori: hikareia
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fremoverlent (no)

• Polish: pewny siebie (pl) (in general), pewny swego (in a particular situation), asertywny (pl) (calque fashionable in psychology)
• Portuguese: assertivo (pt), firme (pt)
• Romanian: asertiv (ro)
• Russian: напо́ристый (ru) (napóristyj), самоуве́ренный (ru) (samouvérennyj), утверди́тельный (ru) (utverdítelʹnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: dian-bhriathrach
• Spanish: asertivo (es), aseverativo
• Turkish: iddialı (tr)
• Ukrainian: асертивний m (asertyvnyj)

Noun

assertive (plural assertives)

1. (grammar) An assertion.
   • 1971, Ralph B. Long, ‎Dorothy R. Long, The System of English Grammar (page 113)

     Proportionative assertives occur in styles of all kinds, from the least formal to the most formal. Satisfactory declarative equivalents do not exist.

Anagrams

• sevirates

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.sɛʁ.tiv/
• Homophone: assertives

Adjective

assertive

1. feminine singular of assertif

German

Pronunciation

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Adjective

assertive

1. inflection of assertiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

assertive f pl

1. feminine plural of assertivo

Anagrams

• asservite, astersive, resisteva, tesseravi