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.
Dr. Jin Ng, the study's first author, said the discovery could also support a treatment approach known as adoptive cell transfer.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Although the child had significant health problems, she remained with her adoptive parents until she died at 8 years old.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Her adoptive parent, Dr. Ilene Andrews, is a linguistics expert and Kong researcher, played by Rebecca Hall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 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
That was the first— and last—time I visited with a friend until I went to my adoptive family.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
