selective

See also: sélective

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /səˈlɛktɪv/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛktɪv

Adjective

selective (comparative more selective, superlative most selective)

1. Of or relating to the process of selection.
   • 2016, Xingming Sun, Alex Liu, Han-Chieh Chao, Cloud Computing and Security: Second International Conference, ICCCS 2016, Nanjing, China, July 29-31, 2016, Revised Selected Papers (part 2, page 579)

     The selective algorithm excludes the redundant classifiers to construct a streamlined ensemble learning.

2. (biology) Of or relating to natural selection.

   selective pressure

3. (of a person) choosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting.

   He's very selective and spent hours in the store choosing a new shirt.

4. (chiefly US, not comparable) Having the authority or capability to make a selection.

   In the USA, military conscription is controlled by the Selective Service.

5. Of or relating to the social work approach called selectivity.
   • 2006, Francis J. Turner, Encyclopedia of Canadian Social Work, page 189:

     Eligibility criteria form the essence of selective programs and individuals are evaluated using a means test.

Derived terms

• ion selective electrode
• ion-selective electrode
• ion-selective membrane
• non-selective
• potassium selective electrode
• selective advantage
• selective breeding
• selective collection
• selective compression
• selective distortion
• selective eating disorder
• selective fire
• selectively
• selectively mute
• selective memory
• selective mutism
• selectiveness
• selective school
• selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
• selective yellow

 

Related terms

• select
• selectivity

Translations

of or pertaining to the process of selection

• Bulgarian: избирателен (bg) (izbiratelen)
• Catalan: selectiu
• Finnish: valikoiva (fi), selektiivinen
• French: sélectif (fr)
• German: selektiv (de), auswählend (de), herausgreifend (de), ausgewählt (de), gezielt (de), punktuell (de)
• Italian: selettivo (it)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: selektiv

  Nynorsk: selektiv

• Polish: selektywny (pl), wybiórczy (pl)
• Portuguese: seletivo
• Romanian: selectiv (ro), de selecție
• Russian: вы́борный (ru) (výbornyj), селекти́вный (ru) (selektívnyj), избира́тельный (ru) (izbirátelʹnyj)
• Slovak: selektívny, selekčný
• Spanish: selectivo

of or relating to natural selection

• Bulgarian: селективен (bg) (selektiven)
• German: selektiv (de), Selektions-

choosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting

• Bulgarian: придирчив (bg) (pridirčiv)
• Catalan: selectiu
• Czech: vybíravý
• Finnish: valikoiva (fi), selektiivinen
• French: sélectif (fr)
• German: wählerisch (de)
• Greek: εκλεκτικός (el) (eklektikós)

  Ancient: ἐκλεκτικός (eklektikós)

• Polish: wybiórczy (pl)
• Russian: разбо́рчивый (ru) (razbórčivyj), перебо́рчивый (ru) (perebórčivyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: probìrljiv (sh), izbìrljiv

• Slovak: vyberavý, prieberčivý
• Spanish: selectivo
• Turkish: seçici (tr)

References

• “selective”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Anagrams

• cleveites, electives