emotive

[ ih-moh-tiv ]
See synonyms for emotive on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. characterized by or pertaining to emotion: the emotive and rational capacities of humankind.

  2. productive of or directed toward the emotions: Artistic distortion is often an emotive use of form.

Origin of emotive

1
First recorded in 1725–35; emot(ion) + -ive

Other words from emotive

  • e·mo·tive·ly, adverb
  • e·mo·tive·ness, e·mo·tiv·i·ty [ee-moh-tiv-i-tee, ih-moh-], /ˌi moʊˈtɪv ɪ ti, ɪ moʊ-/, noun
  • hy·per·e·mo·tive, adjective
  • hy·per·e·mo·tive·ly, adverb
  • hy·per·e·mo·tive·ness, noun
  • hy·per·e·mo·tiv·i·ty, noun
  • non·e·mo·tive, adjective
  • non·e·mo·tive·ly, adverb
  • non·e·mo·tive·ness, noun
  • un·e·mo·tive, adjective
  • un·e·mo·tive·ly, adverb
  • un·e·mo·tive·ness, noun

Words Nearby emotive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use emotive in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for emotive

emotive

/ (ɪˈməʊtɪv) /


adjective
  1. tending or designed to arouse emotion

  2. of or characterized by emotion

usage For emotive

Emotional is preferred to emotive when describing a display of emotion: he was given an emotional (not emotive) welcome

Derived forms of emotive

  • emotively, adverb
  • emotiveness or emotivity, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012