How to Use divisive in a Sentence

divisive

adjective
Definition of divisivenext
  • Low-rise pants can be divisive, but one-legged pants feel far more controversial.
    — Tara Gonzalez, Harper's BAZAAR, 13 Dec. 2022
  • Americans reasons to be divisive, too, often focusing on the extremes of both sides of an issue.
    — Lindsay Schnell, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2022
  • Workers said the campaign in Chicago had been divisive and marked by interpersonal disputes.
    — Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2024
  • Both Musk and Chappelle have come under scrutiny recently for their divisive behavior.
    — Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2022
  • Time is ticking on a fascinatingly divisive piece of tech legislation moving through Congress—and Meta is making a final push to run out the clock.
    — Byjacob Carpenter, Fortune, 6 Dec. 2022
  • Warburton's last appearance on the sitcom was in the divisive finale, when Elaine, who'd just been sentenced to prison, emotionally tells Puddy not to wait for her.
    — Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Still, the state of the Texas power grid has been a divisive topic for years.
    — Breanne Deppisch, Washington Examiner, 13 Jan. 2024
  • The song, which was released in May, has been quite divisive.
    — Tracey Harrington McCoy, Peoplemag, 25 July 2023
  • The Vatican need not look far to see the divisive power of the issue.
    — Jason Horowitz, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2023
  • Hogan has long counseled the GOP to move away from Trump, calling him divisive.
    — Annie Jennemann, Baltimore Sun, 6 Aug. 2024
  • While many comments on TikTok praised the video, the same post on Twitter was more divisive.
    — Jeffrey Clark, Fox News, 24 Apr. 2023
  • The fact that Brooke wasn’t in the episode was a divisive decision, according to the comments section of the YouTube video.
    — Sophie Hanson, StyleCaster, 13 Aug. 2024
  • Holmes’ dress-over-jeans look for the 2022 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball was divisive, yes.
    — Nicola Fumo, Peoplemag, 11 Nov. 2023
  • This won’t be the first year Hollywood’s biggest night takes place amid a divisive war.
    — Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2024
  • Getting the facts right might diminish some of the divisive rhetoric in this country.
    — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 3 May 2024
  • To be a place of peaceful dialogue and debate for even the most divisive issues in the world today.
    — Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Nov. 2023
  • The practice of keeping your dog confined in a cage for periods of time is a divisive one.
    — Kelly Conaboy, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
  • The bill that could ban TikTok may become a divisive issue in the 2024 election.
    — Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo, Quartz, 22 Apr. 2024
  • This debate isn’t just about the 20 states that have enacted these divisive bans.
    — Mary Ellen Klas, Twin Cities, 28 Jan. 2024
  • And then there's the subtle peplum detail at the hip, which proves that the divisive early-2000s trend is not going anywhere.
    — Condé Nast, Glamour, 12 Mar. 2023
  • The use of bait has always been a divisive subject in deer hunting circles.
    — Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 10 Aug. 2023
  • Despite the divisive nature of the bill, debate was largely calm.
    — Lauren McGaughy, Dallas News, 14 May 2023
  • The movie was divisive, and a box office failure, and everyone moved on.
    — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 24 July 2023
  • It's got puffy sleeves that taper into a cuff and the fit avoids the divisive boxy look, according to reviews.
    — Clint Davis, Peoplemag, 30 May 2024
  • There was a lot of grousing about the last two Sopranos seasons, and the end remains divisive.
    — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2023
  • In her opinion piece, Sandberg notes that the conflict itself is divisive, but adds that a stance against rape shouldn't be.
    — Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 21 Nov. 2023
  • Much like the notch before it, the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 has been somewhat divisive.
    — Jacob Siegal, BGR, 19 Dec. 2022
  • He was shocked by how divisive school-board elections had become in his small town of Mount Vernon, Iowa.
    — Lisa Lerer, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2024
  • Though it’s been more than half a year since the divisive rebrand, the platform’s web domain is still twitter.com — even x.com redirects to the original link.
    — Saira Mueller, CNN, 23 Feb. 2024
  • The symbolism attached to height is no doubt part of what makes tall buildings so divisive.
    — Bianca Bosker, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'divisive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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