attributive
Americanadjective
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pertaining to or having the character of attribution or an attribute.
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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
adjective
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relating to an attribute
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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
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philosophy relative to an understood domain, as small in that elephant is small
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of attributive
First recorded in 1600–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I make my bread deciding whether a word is an attributive noun or adjective, parsing adverbial uses over conjunctive uses, writing those delightfully boring usage notes in your dictionary.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 4, 2013
In other words, let the bodies be regarded as attributive and the forces as substantive.
From The Approach to Philosophy by Ralph Barton Perry
In fact, the distinction between noun and adjective is inapplicable to English grammar, and should be replaced by a distinction between objective and attributive words.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 3 "Gordon, Lord George" to "Grasses" by Various
Constructions of Adjectives.+—Adjectives that merely describe or limit are said to be attributive in construction.
From Composition-Rhetoric by Stratton D. Brooks
With the exception of the nominative, the various forms of the noun are all attributive; there is no difference, for example, between “doing a thing” and “doing badly.”
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 3 "Gordon, Lord George" to "Grasses" by Various
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