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Definition of non-selective in English:

non-selective

adjective

  • 1Not involving selection of the most suitable or best qualified.

    ‘believing in free and non-selective education’
    • ‘The whole thing makes me break out in a rash not seen since the last time I went to a free tequila party at a non-selective fraternity house.’
    • ‘We tried to overall reduce the number of hours of television viewing in a non-selective way.’
    • ‘Do selective state schools perform better than non-selective, and why?’
    • ‘Study recruitment was non-selective.’
    • ‘This non-selective identification causes problems because the mourner identifies with both the loved and hated aspects or functions of the lost person or thing.’
    1. 1.1 (of a process or agent) affecting all types or species.
      ‘treating the weeds with a non-selective herbicide’
      • ‘These soybeans are genetically modified to tolerate spraying with the non-selective herbicide.’
      • ‘Non-selective herbicides can kill any plant they touch without being at all selective.’
      • ‘This can be done effectively by treating the actively growing weeds with a non-selective herbicide.’
      • ‘Similar events occur with non-selective COX inhibitors.’
      • ‘Among the many problems with chemical controls is that they are non-selective: They don't just kill pest insects, they kill bees too.’
      • ‘These non-selective herbicides should not be used at the same site continuously for more than two to three years to allow native vegetation to regrow.’
      • ‘The use of non-selective beta blockers should be avoided.’
      • ‘This non-selective herbicide is taken up through the leaves and translocated to the roots, where it disrupts the plant's metabolism.’
      • ‘A retrospective follow up study over seven years found that selective blockers were no better than non-selective ones at protecting eyes from progressive damage.’
      • ‘Non-selective NSAID therapy may be appropriate for chronic pain management in aspirin users given that suitable GI prophylactic measures are utilized in high-risk patients.’
      unselective, undiscriminating, uncritical, aimless, hit-or-miss, haphazard, random, unsystematic, unmethodical
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