agglutinative

[ uh-gloot-n-ey-tiv, uh-gloot-n-uh- ]

adjective

1. tending or having power to agglutinate or unite:

   an agglutinative substance.

2. Linguistics. pertaining to or noting a language, as Turkish, characterized by agglutination. Compare inflectional ( def 2 ), isolating.

agglutinative

/ əˈɡluːtɪnətɪv /

adjective

1. tending to join or capable of joining
2. Alsoagglomerative linguistics denoting languages, such as Hungarian, whose morphology is characterized by agglutination Compare analytic synthetic polysynthetic

Other Words From

• anti·ag·gluti·native adjective
• nonag·gluti·native adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of agglutinative¹

First recorded in 1625–35; agglutinate + -ive

Example Sentences

Such languages could be termed “agglutinative-isolating,” “fusional-isolating” and “symbolic-isolating.”

From Project Gutenberg

Agglutinative languages do not often possess special adverbial endings.

From Project Gutenberg

Agglutinative action is evidence of the presence in a serum of a somewhat similar set of substances, known as “agglutinins.”

From Project Gutenberg

In the agglutinative languages, or at any rate in some of them, some of the post-fixed elements have still an independent value.

From Project Gutenberg

But the distinction between them and the so-called agglutinative languages is one of degree rather than of kind.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• syrupy
• tacky
• viscous