additive

[ ad-i-tiv ]

/ ˈæd ɪ tɪv /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: additive / additives on Thesaurus.com

noun

something that is added, as one substance to another, to alter or improve the general quality or to counteract undesirable properties: an additive that thins paint.

Nutrition.

Also called food additive. a substance added directly to food during processing, as for preservation, coloring, or stabilization.
something that becomes part of food or affects it as a result of packaging or processing, as debris or radiation.

adjective

characterized or produced by addition; cumulative: an additive process.

Mathematics. (of a function) having the property that the function of the union or sum of two quantities is equal to the sum of the functional values of each quantity; linear.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of additive

From the Late Latin word additīvus, dating back to 1690–1700. See additament, -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM additive

ad·di·tive·ly, adverbin·ter·ad·di·tive, adjectivesub·ad·di·tive, adjectivesub·ad·di·tive·ly, adverb

Words nearby additive

additional, additionality, Additional Member System, addition polymer, addition reaction, additive, additive color, additive group, additive identity, additive inverse, additive process

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use additive in a sentence

You might smell it when roasting malt, barley, and other grains, or as an additive in bread and cakes.
Why autumn air smells so delicious and sweet|Sara Kiley Watson|October 13, 2020|Popular-Science
They’ve placed tailings from exploratory drilling into assorted containers, and are measuring the reaction rates that result from using different chemical additives and processes under different weather conditions.
Asbestos could be a powerful weapon against climate change (you read that right)|James Temple|October 6, 2020|MIT Technology Review
More research on possible effects from different additives in these plastics also will be needed, Yue notes.
How to recycle ‘nonrecyclable’ plastics|Kathiann Kowalski|October 2, 2020|Science News For Students
So hot I am guessing there’s a fuel additive in the mix and that additive smells like “guilt.”
Does Pre-Confessing Clear You of Sexual Causality?|Eugene Robinson|September 20, 2020|Ozy

A pair of mathematicians has solved the first chunk of one of the most famous conjectures about the additive properties of whole numbers.
Landmark Math Proof Clears Hurdle in Top Erdős Conjecture|Erica Klarreich|August 3, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Not because I need to feed him, keep him in milk, yogurt, additive-free turkey bologna.
Daddy, How Come You’re Always Broke? Benjamin Anastas’s ‘Too Good to Be True’|Benjamin Anastas|October 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
BPA remains a common additive in both dental fillings and dental sealants, according to the American Dental Association.
Can Children's Dental Fillings Spur Depression?|Florence Williams|July 16, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Conversely, indefinite integrals are indeterminate to the extent of an additive constant.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 5|Various
This valuable additive law, however, cannot be applied in strictness to the amount of ionisation attending the ray.
The Birth-Time of the World and Other Scientific Essays|J. (John) Joly
Bearing in mind the additive effects of stimulus we see that its effective intensity increases with the duration of application.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
(d) Additive effect on current of response, root-tip a negative, and growing region A positive.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
The additive effect of stimulus of light and gravity is seen illustrated in figure 180.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose

British Dictionary definitions for additive

additive

/ (ˈædɪtɪv) /

adjective

characterized or produced by addition; cumulative

noun

any substance added to something to improve it, prevent deterioration, etc

short for food additive

Word Origin for additive

C17: from Late Latin additīvus, from addere to add

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

Scientific definitions for additive

additive

[ ăd′ĭ-tĭv ]

Noun

A substance added in small amounts to something else to improve, strengthen, or otherwise alter it. Additives are used for a variety of reasons. They are added to food, for example, to enhance taste or color or to prevent spoilage. They are added to gasoline to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, and to plastics to enhance molding capability.

Adjective

Relating to the production of color by the mixing of light rays of varying wavelengths.♦ The additive primaries red, green, and blue are those colors whose wavelengths can be mixed in different proportions to produce all other spectral colors. Compare subtractive. See Note at color.

Mathematics Marked by, produced by, or involving addition.

additive

Origin of additive

OTHER WORDS FROM additive

Words nearby additive

Words related to additive

How to use additive in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for additive

Word Origin for additive

Scientific definitions for additive