selective
adjective
se·lec·tive
sə-ˈlek-tiv 
2
: highly specific in activity or effect
selective pesticides
selective absorption
Examples of selective in a Sentence
The club is selective in choosing members.
The college has a highly selective admissions process.
Recent Examples on the Web
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
Wallen has long wanted to record a duet with a woman, but was being very selective.
—Melinda Newman, Billboard, 16 May 2025
Small private colleges Small, less selective private colleges often have acceptance rates of 60% or higher and enroll 3,000 or fewer students.
—Amy Li, The Conversation, 16 May 2025
People are being selective in choosing where to spend more, such as outings at restaurants and bars, and that has helped overall retail sales from sinking and instead remaining flat in April compared to March, new government data on Thursday show.
—Alina Selyukh, NPR, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for selective
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Visa Contributor, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
Wallen has long wanted to record a duet with a woman, but was being very selective.
—Melinda Newman, Billboard, 16 May 2025
Small private colleges Small, less selective private colleges often have acceptance rates of 60% or higher and enroll 3,000 or fewer students.
—Amy Li, The Conversation, 16 May 2025
People are being selective in choosing where to spend more, such as outings at restaurants and bars, and that has helped overall retail sales from sinking and instead remaining flat in April compared to March, new government data on Thursday show.
—Alina Selyukh, NPR, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for selective
Cite this Entry
“Selective.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/selective. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
selective
adjective
se·lec·tive
sə-ˈlek-tiv
: of or relating to selection : selecting or tending to select
selective shoppers
Medical Definition
selective
adjective
se·lec·tive
sə-ˈlek-tiv
2
: highly specific in activity or effect
selective pesticides
selective permeability of a plasma membrane
selectively
adverb
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share