supportive

[ suh-pawr-tiv, -pohr- ]

adjective

1. giving support.
2. providing sympathy or encouragement:

   His family was supportive of his attempts to be a writer.

3. providing additional help, information, etc.; auxiliary:

   manufacturers of supportive materials.

4. Medicine/Medical. helping to maintain a normal physiological balance, as by the intravenous administration of required nutriment.

Other Words From

• sup·portive·ness noun
• nonsup·portive adjective
• unsup·portive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of supportive¹

First recorded in 1585–95; support + -ive

Example Sentences

Yes, some people have been inconvenienced by traffic delays or annoyed by supportive athletes.

From The Daily Beast

But the scene outside Woodhull Hospital wasn't entirely supportive.

From The Daily Beast

“He is ‘an independent socialist,’” said one organizer supportive of Warren.

From The Daily Beast

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), a leading voice on police demilitarization, was supportive of the White House announcement.

From The Daily Beast

Many historians have leveled criticism at the Code, arguing that it was too conservative and supportive of the bourgeois.

From The Daily Beast

This may in part be due to the nature of the insulating and supportive apparatus.

From Project Gutenberg

The police and courts should have well-established and mutually supportive relationships with the schools.

From Project Gutenberg

The supportive appliance is kept in position for ten days or two weeks.

From Project Gutenberg

It is tough on criminals and supportive of police, and it has been languishing in these hallowed halls for years now.

From Project Gutenberg

Some may be conducting fibrils, but it is hard to distinguish these from supportive.

From Project Gutenberg