attributive
[ uh-trib-yuh-tiv ]
/ əˈtrɪb yə tɪv /
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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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On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.
Origin of attributive
First recorded in 1600–10
OTHER WORDS FROM attributive
Words nearby attributive
attrib., attribute, attributes, attribution, attribution theory, attributive, attributively, attrit, attrite, attrition, Attu
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences 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 forms of attributive
attributively, adverbattributiveness, nounCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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