intransitive

American  

[in-tran-si-tiv] / ɪnˈtræn sɪ tɪv /

adjective

1. noting or having the quality of an intransitive verb.

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noun

1. intransitive verb.

intransitive British  

/ ɪnˈtrænsɪtɪv /

adjective

1. 1. denoting a verb when it does not require a direct object

   2. denoting a verb that customarily does not require a direct object

      "to faint" is an intransitive verb

   3. (as noun) a verb in either of these categories

2. denoting an adjective or noun that does not require any particular noun phrase as a referent

3. logic maths (of a relation) having the property that if it holds between one argument and a second, and between the second and a third, it must fail to hold between the first and the third

   "being the mother of" is an intransitive relation

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Other Word Forms

• intransitively adverb
• intransitiveness noun
• intransitivity noun

Etymology

Origin of intransitive

From the Latin word intrānsitīvus, dating back to 1605–15. See in- ³, transitive

Example Sentences

I would have guessed that transitive dice were more common than intransitive ones.

From Scientific American • Sep. 19, 2023

Missing hyphens or incorrect capitalization, ambiguities about singular and plural nouns or transitive and intransitive verbs — no question is too insignificant.

From Seattle Times • May 29, 2023

Missing hyphens or incorrect capitalization, ambiguities about singular and plural nouns or transitive and intransitive verbs - no question is too insignificant.

From Washington Times • May 29, 2023

“To bald” may not be a common intransitive verb, but that has not prevented “balding” from entering the language as a participle.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 2, 2019

The tenses of the intransitive verbs, except the present and imperfect, while they drop ah and the possessive pronoun, are formed with that pronoun which forms sentences with a predicate.

From The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt With the Translation of an Unpublished Memoir by Him on the American Verb by Brinton, Daniel Garrison