appositive

American  

[uh-poz-i-tiv] / əˈpɒz ɪ tɪv /

noun

1. a word or phrase in apposition.

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adjective

1. placed in apposition.

2. (of an adjective or adjectival phrase) directly following the noun it modifies.

appositive British  

/ əˈpɒzɪtɪv /

adjective

1. grammar

   1. standing in apposition

   2. another word for nonrestrictive

2. of or relating to apposition

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noun

1. an appositive word or phrase

Other Word Forms

• appositively adjective

Etymology

Origin of appositive

First recorded in 1685–95; apposit(ion) + -ive

Explanation

In grammar, an appositive word or phrase is one that describes the word or phrase right next to it. "My cat" is the appositive phrase in the sentence, "I'd like you to meet Burrito, my cat." While this adjective, strictly speaking, means "beside" or "adjacent," it's most commonly used to talk about grammar. If you say, "I saw Lady Gaga, a famous singer, at the supermarket," you've used the appositive phrase "a famous singer," which describes Lady Gaga. Appositive can also be used as a noun. In the song "Do-Re-Me," from The Sound of Music, the appositive "a deer" adds information, explaining exactly what a "doe" is.

Example Sentences

Saunders loves to parody legal language, thick with appositive commas and capitalized terms, because he understands how that junk works at cross-purposes — it’s rigidly precise but designed mainly to cover things up.

From Washington Post • Oct. 21, 2022

By contrast, GPT-3 has no advance knowledge about syntax: There are no human-programmed algorithms to ensure that its subjects and verbs are in agreement, or that a comma is inserted before an appositive.

From New York Times • Apr. 15, 2022

The best modern sentences resemble Donne’s, with simple statements upfront, then a pileup, if need be, of clause upon appositive clause, clarifying, elaborating, potentially without cease — but casually, too, always ready to end.

From New York Times • Aug. 26, 2019

She also has a notable fondness for the appositive oblique: “the animal wildness of it,” “the hot nothingness of it,” “the glorious spectacle of it,” “the rough gray infinity of it.”

From New York Times • Jul. 9, 2019

Less frequently the verb agrees with an appositive; as,— Coriolī, oppidum Volscōrum, captum est, Corioli, a town of the Volsci, was captured.

From New Latin Grammar by Bennett, Charles E. (Charles Edwin)