selective

S1E1L1E1C3T1I1V4E1
/səˈlɛktɪv/

adjective

Of or relating to the process of selection.

“selective pressure”

CommonScrabble 14

Meanings

adjectiveselective (comparative more selective, superlative most selective)

comparative more selective · superlative most selective

  1. Of or relating to the process of selection.

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

    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)
  2. biologyOf or relating to natural selection.

    selective pressure

  3. Choosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting.

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

  4. USnot comparableHaving 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.

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

    2006, Francis J. Turner, Encyclopedia of Canadian Social Work, page 189

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivetending to select; characterized by careful choice

adjectivecharacterized by very careful or fastidious selection

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Ancient Greek ἐκλεκτικός
  • ἐκλεκτικός (eklektikós)choosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
Arabic اِنْتِقَائِيّ
  • اِنْتِقَائِيّ (intiqāʔiyy)choosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
Bulgarian избирателен, селективен
  • избирателен (izbiratelen)of or pertaining to the process of selection
  • селективен (selektiven)of or relating to natural selection
  • придирчив (pridirčiv)choosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
Catalan selectiu, selectiu
  • selectiuof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • selectiuchoosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
Czech vybíravý
  • vybíravýchoosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
Finnish valikoiva, selektiivinen
  • valikoivaof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • selektiivinenof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • valikoivachoosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
  • selektiivinenchoosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
French sélectif, sélectif
  • sélectifof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • sélectifchoosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
German selektiv, auswählend
  • selektivof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • auswählendof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • herausgreifendof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • ausgewähltof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • gezieltof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • punktuellof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • selektivof or relating to natural selection
  • Selektions-of or relating to natural selection
  • wählerischchoosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
Greek εκλεκτικός
  • εκλεκτικός (eklektikós)choosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
Italian selettivo
  • selettivoof or pertaining to the process of selection
Norwegian Bokmål selektiv
  • selektivof or pertaining to the process of selection
Polish selektywny, wybiórczy
  • selektywnyof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • wybiórczyof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • wybiórczychoosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
Portuguese seletivo
  • seletivoof or pertaining to the process of selection
Romanian selectiv, de selecție
  • selectivof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • de selecțieof or pertaining to the process of selection
Russian вы́борный, селекти́вный
  • вы́борный (výbornyj)of or pertaining to the process of selection
  • селекти́вный (selektívnyj)of or pertaining to the process of selection
  • избира́тельный (izbirátelʹnyj)of or pertaining to the process of selection
  • разбо́рчивый (razbórčivyj)choosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
  • перебо́рчивый (perebórčivyj)choosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
Slovak selektívny, selekčný
  • selektívnyof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • selekčnýof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • vyberavýchoosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
  • prieberčivýchoosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
Spanish selectivo, selectivo
  • selectivoof or pertaining to the process of selection
  • selectivochoosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting
Turkish seçici
  • seçicichoosy, fussy or discriminating when selecting

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with selective

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

selective. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/selective

MLA

“selective.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/selective. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “selective,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/selective.

Source: selective on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.