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agglutinative

[uh-gloot-n-ey-tiv, uh-gloot-n-uh-]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR agglutinative ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

tending or having power to agglutinate or unite: an agglutinative substance.
Linguistics. pertaining to or noting a language, as Turkish, characterized by agglutination.Compare inflectional(def 2), isolating.

Origin of agglutinative

First recorded in 1625–35; agglutinate + -ive
Related formsan·ti·ag·glu·ti·na·tive, adjectivenon·ag·glu·ti·na·tive, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for agglutinative

tacky, viscous, syrupy, clinging, tenacious, glutinous, viscid, gluey, ropy

Examples from the Web for agglutinative

Historical Examples of agglutinative

  • With regard to syntax, the Basque resembles all agglutinative languages.

    Basque Legends

    Wentworth Webster

  • The juxtaposing technique we may call an “agglutinative” one, if we like.

    Language

    Edward Sapir

  • They spoke an agglutinative language, and resembled the Chinese very much both in physical type and in character.

    Human Origins

    Samuel Laing

  • Their absence, however, is readily explained by the persistence of the agglutinative principle, which renders them unnecessary.

    Man, Past and Present

    Agustus Henry Keane

  • The main differences shown by these varieties are agglutinative differences.

    Food Poisoning

    Edwin Oakes Jordan

British Dictionary definitions for agglutinative

agglutinative

adjective

tending to join or capable of joining
Also: agglomerative linguistics denoting languages, such as Hungarian, whose morphology is characterized by agglutinationCompare analytic (def. 3), synthetic (def. 3), polysynthetic
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
Word Origin and History for agglutinative
adj.

1630s, in a medical sense, from Latin agglutinat-, past participle stem of agglutinare (see agglutination). Philological sense is from 1650s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
agglutinative in Medicine

agglutinative

[ə-glōōt′n-ā′tĭv, -ə-tĭv]

adj.

Concerning or characteristic of agglutination.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.