adjective
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acquired or related by adoption
an adoptive father
-
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
Derived 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.
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
Disney's "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu" saw the much-adored Baby Yoda and his adoptive guardian sweep the North American box office with an estimated $102 million take through Monday, industry estimates showed.
From Barron's • May 24, 2026
And if Uthmeier prevails, adoptive parents across Florida could find their legal claim to their children suddenly open to challenge, potentially by the very birth parents who relinquished them, or by the state.
From Slate • May 13, 2026
However, the child's former social workers were recently told his adoptive father had moved out in October and his mother had begun a new relationship.
From BBC • May 11, 2026
“That was the director of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption inviting us to Busch Gardens for an event later today. She also said we could bring other adoptive families with us.”
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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.
