connective

[ kuh-nek-tiv ]

adjective

1. serving or tending to connect:

   connective remarks between chapters.

noun

1. something that connects.
2. Grammar. a word used to connect words, phrases, clauses, and sentences, as a conjunction.
3. Botany. the tissue joining the two cells of the anther.

connective

/ ˌkɒnɛkˈtɪvɪtɪ; kəˈnɛktɪv /

adjective

1. serving to connect or capable of connecting

noun

1. a thing that connects
2. grammar logic
   1. a less common word for conjunction
   2. any word that connects phrases, clauses, or individual words
   3. a symbol used in a formal language in the construction of compound sentences from simpler sentences, corresponding to terms such as or, and, not, etc, in ordinary speech
3. botany the tissue of a stamen that connects the two lobes of the anther
4. anatomy a nerve-fibre bundle connecting two nerve centres

Derived Forms

• conˈnectively, adverb
• connectivity, noun

Other Words From

• con·nective·ly adverb
• con·nec·tiv·i·ty [kon-ek-, tiv, -i-tee], noun
• noncon·nective adjective noun
• noncon·nective·ly adverb
• noncon·nec·tivi·ty noun
• precon·nective adjective
• quasi-con·nective adjective
• quasi-con·nective·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of connective¹

First recorded in 1645–55; connect + -ive

Example Sentences

Foot massagers use different methods to vibrate, stimulate, and pressurize the muscles and connective tissues in the feet.

From Popular-Science

While others may gaze across the open ocean and see a vast blue nothingness, islanders are more likely to see the realm of voyagers, the connective tissue between far-flung relatives, the waters that birthed their ancestors.

From Nautilus

Vancouver city planners sought her advice on how to design a city that mimics the connective patterns of Northwest forests.

From Washington Post

This protein gets stuck in cells’ membranes and can’t be recycled for fresh proteins, causing the cells to prematurely age and making blood vessels and connective tissue stiffer, Kleinman says.

From Science News

He described Arise’s platform as “connective tissue” that linked Arise’s corporate clients with its network of small businesses and their agents.

From ProPublica

The liver cells fulfill about 3,000 biochemical functions but they are massively reduced by tough connective tissue.

From The Daily Beast

In that dawn light, Mika is always there in a really connective and supportive way.

From The Daily Beast

Sentences become long and involved; dependent clauses abound; connective words and phrases are frequent.

From Project Gutenberg

Generally the vowel e in this situation, is a connective, or introduced merely for the sake of euphony.

From Project Gutenberg

A nerve consists of a bundle of such tiny axons, bound together by connective tissue.

From Project Gutenberg

Special nerve endings, called the tactile corpuscles, are found there, each inclosed in a sheath or capsule of connective tissue.

From Project Gutenberg

They are held together with a tough, stringy material called connective tissue.

From Project Gutenberg