constructive
Americanadjective
-
helping to improve; promoting further development or advancement (destructive ).
constructive criticism.
- Synonyms:
- useful, handy, helpful, productive
-
of, relating to, or of the nature of construction; structural.
-
deduced by inference or interpretation; inferential.
constructive permission.
-
Law. denoting an act or condition not directly expressed but inferred from other acts or conditions.
adjective
-
serving to build or improve; positive
constructive criticism
-
law deduced by inference or construction; not expressed but inferred
-
law having a deemed legal effect
constructive notice
-
another word for structural
Other Word Forms
- constructively adverb
- constructiveness noun
- nonconstructive adjective
- nonconstructively adverb
- nonconstructiveness noun
- quasi-constructive adjective
- quasi-constructively adverb
- unconstructive adjective
- unconstructively adverb
Etymology
Origin of constructive
1670–80; < Medieval Latin constrūctīvus, equivalent to Latin constrūct(us) ( construct ) + īvus -ive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One person's interference is another's constructive feedback, which is how Wilcox's exchange with Amorim before the draw at Leeds at the weekend has been interpreted.
From BBC
Mahmood, cabinet member for environment and transport, called for Unite to come back with a "constructive suggestion" that the council could work to to bring staff back into work.
From BBC
“While conditions remain fluid and uncertainty elevated, we currently expect these developments to have a constructive impact on our portfolios,” Jared Lou, portfolio manager for the William Blair Emerging Markets Debt Fund, told Barron’s.
From Barron's
“While conditions remain fluid and uncertainty elevated, we currently expect these developments to have a constructive impact on our portfolios,” Jared Lou, portfolio manager for the William Blair Emerging Markets Debt Fund, told Barron’s.
From Barron's
The long term technical picture, however, offers a more constructive setup.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
