Combative
Martial
Martial adjective - Of, relating to, or suitable for war or a warrior.
Usage example: the marching band played “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and several other martial airs
Combative is a synonym for martial in military topic. You can use "Combative" instead an adjective "Martial", if it concerns topics such as warlike, having to do with armed hostilities.
Nearby Word: martially
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
- offensive and combative
- offensive and martial
- hostile and combative
- hostile and martial
- antagonistic and combative
- antagonistic and martial
- truculent and combative
- truculent and martial
- quarrelsome and combative
- quarrelsome and martial
- military and combative
- military and martial
- aggressive and combative
- aggressive and martial
Both words in one sentence
- This is because at one time the Japanese believed that the English term "martial arts" referred to a specific fighting style and not a general term for combative sports.
Source: Lost in Translation - Many martial arts also emphasize the importance of keeping one's defense up at all times, so that even an unexpected attack can be deflected easily — which also seems like clairvoyance, but is really a combative version of Crazy-Prepared.
Source: Kung-Fu Clairvoyance -
The art of Le Parkour is basically a non-combative martial art, and some practitioners teach how to dodge attackers and avoid being caught by them while running obstacle courses.
Source: Combat Parkour
Cite this Source
Martial and Combative. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/combative/martial
Combative & Martial. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/combative/martial>.
Martial or Combative. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/combative/martial.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "combative" and "martial" have occurred on timeline