adjective
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acquired or related by adoption
an adoptive father
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of or relating to adoption Compare adopted
Usage
Although adoptive in the sense “acquired or related by adoption” can refer to either parent or child in such a relationship, adoptive is customarily applied to the parent ( her adoptive mother ) and adopted to the child ( their adopted son ).
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of adoptive
1400–50; < Latin adoptīvus; see adopt, -ive; replacing late Middle English adoptife < Middle French adoptif
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.
Her adoptive parent, Dr. Ilene Andrews, is a linguistics expert and Kong researcher, played by Rebecca Hall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Instead, he was taken from her by a court order from Oldham Council and placed with temporary adoptive parents before being adopted by Varley and McGowan.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
His coming of age occurs when, while fighting for Germany in World War I at the colonial outpost of Tsingtau, in China, he is captured by his adoptive country of Japan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
A lively, talkative little girl, she spoke fluent Korean at the time, and her adoptive father recorded her on a cassette that then sat gathering dust for years.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
I knew he was bullied a lot, and I knew his adoptive parents weren’t exactly stellar citizens.”
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
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.
