causative

[ kaw-zuh-tiv ]
See synonyms for causative on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. acting as a cause; producing (often followed by of): a causative agency; an event causative of war.

  2. Grammar. noting causation. The causative form of to fall is to fell. Gothic -jan is a causative suffix in fulljan “to cause to be full; to fill.”

noun
  1. Grammar. a word, especially a verb, noting causation, as made in He made me eat the apple.

Origin of causative

1
1375–1425; late Middle English <Latin causātīvus, equivalent to causāt(us) caused (see causation) + -īvus-ive

Other words from causative

  • caus·a·tive·ly, adverb
  • caus·a·tive·ness, caus·a·tiv·i·ty, noun
  • in·ter·caus·a·tive, adjective
  • non·caus·a·tive, adjective
  • non·caus·a·tive·ly, adverb
  • non·caus·a·tive·ness, noun
  • un·caus·a·tive, adjective
  • un·caus·a·tive·ly, adverb
  • un·caus·a·tive·ness, noun

Words Nearby causative

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use causative in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for causative

causative

/ (ˈkɔːzətɪv) /


adjective
  1. grammar relating to a form or class of verbs, such as persuade, that express causation

  2. (often postpositive and foll by of) producing an effect

noun
  1. the causative form or class of verbs

Derived forms of causative

  • causatively, adverb
  • causativeness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012