attributive
[ uh-trib-yuh-tiv ]
/ əˈtrɪb yə tɪv /
adjective
pertaining to or having the character of attribution or an attribute.
Grammar. of or relating to an adjective or noun that is directly adjacent to, in English usually preceding, the noun it modifies, without any intervening linking verb, as the adjective sunny in a sunny day or the noun television in a television screen.
noun
Grammar. an attributive word, especially an adjective.
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RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
attributable, attribute, attributes, attribution, attribution theory, attributive, attrit, attrite, attrition, attu, attucks
Origin of attributive
First recorded in 1600–10
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for attributive
British Dictionary definitions for attributive
attributive
/ (əˈtrɪbjʊtɪv) /
adjective
relating to an attribute
grammar (of an adjective or adjectival phrase) modifying a noun and constituting part of the same noun phrase, in English normally preceding the noun, as black in Fido is a black dog (as opposed to Fido is black)Compare predicative
philosophy relative to an understood domain, as small in that elephant is small
noun
an attributive adjective
Derived Formsattributively, adverbattributiveness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for attributive
attributive
c.1600, from French attributif, from stem of Latin attributus (see attribute (v.)). As a noun, in grammar, from 1750. Related: Attributively; attributiveness.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper