assertive
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
behaving in a confident way so that people listen to your opinions and respect you.
demonstrating a confident and forceful personality; expressing needs and opinions clearly while respecting others.
Simple“You need to be more assertive if you want a promotion at work.”
In context“The consultant advised the manager to adopt a more assertive tone during negotiations to ensure the company's interests were fully protected.”
PitfallHe was very assertive to his boss. He was very assertive with his boss.Use the preposition 'with' when describing who someone is being assertive toward.
- 02 C1 Advanced
having a strong or bold quality, often used to describe a taste or smell.
having a strong, bold, or pungent quality that commands attention; frequently applied to flavors or scents.
Simple“The dish has an assertive garlic flavor that might be too strong for some.”
In context“The sommelier noted that the wine's assertive tannins would require a rich, fatty protein to balance the palate.”
Borrowed from Medieval Latin assertīvus. Synchronically analyzable as assert + -ive.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.