connective

[ kuh-nek-tiv ]

/ kəˈnɛk tɪv /

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See synonyms for: connective / connectives / connectivity on Thesaurus.com

adjective

serving or tending to connect: connective remarks between chapters.

noun

something that connects.

Grammar. a word used to connect words, phrases, clauses, and sentences, as a conjunction.

Botany. the tissue joining the two cells of the anther.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of connective

First recorded in 1645–55; connect + -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM connective

con·nec·tive·ly, adverbcon·nec·tiv·i·ty

[kon-ek-tiv-i-tee], /ˌkɒn ɛkˈtɪv ɪ ti/, nounnon·con·nec·tive, adjective, nounnon·con·nec·tive·ly, adverb

non·con·nec·tiv·i·ty, nounpre·con·nec·tive, adjectivequa·si-con·nec·tive, adjectivequa·si-con·nec·tive·ly, adverb

Words nearby connective

Connecticut Compromise, Connecticut warbler, connecting rod, connection, connectionism, connective, connective tissue, connectivity, connector, connect time, Connell

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use connective in a sentence

Foot massagers use different methods to vibrate, stimulate, and pressurize the muscles and connective tissues in the feet.
Best foot massager for for a spa experience in your home|Irena Collaku|July 28, 2021|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.
How Taboos Can Help Protect the Oceans - Issue 100: Outsiders|Krista Langlois|May 26, 2021|Nautilus
Vancouver city planners sought her advice on how to design a city that mimics the connective patterns of Northwest forests.
A scientist’s career in communion with trees|Kate Brown|May 21, 2021|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.
The FDA has approved the first drug to treat the rapid-aging disease progeria|Carolyn Wilke|November 25, 2020|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.
Meet the Customer Service Reps for Disney and Airbnb Who Have to Pay to Talk to You|by Ken Armstrong, Justin Elliott and Ariana Tobin|October 2, 2020|ProPublica
The liver cells fulfill about 3,000 biochemical functions but they are massively reduced by tough connective tissue.
Anas al-Liby’s Health Care During Terror Trial Could Gouge Taxpayers|Jamie Dettmer|October 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In that dawn light, Mika is always there in a really connective and supportive way.
Mika Brzezinski on Knowing Your Value|Lizzie Crocker|May 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Sentences become long and involved; dependent clauses abound; connective words and phrases are frequent.
English: Composition and Literature|W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
Generally the vowel e in this situation, is a connective, or introduced merely for the sake of euphony.
The Indian in his Wigwam|Henry R. Schoolcraft
A nerve consists of a bundle of such tiny axons, bound together by connective tissue.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
Special nerve endings, called the tactile corpuscles, are found there, each inclosed in a sheath or capsule of connective tissue.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
They are held together with a tough, stringy material called connective tissue.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 3|Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

British Dictionary definitions for connective

connective

/ (kəˈnɛktɪv) /

adjective

serving to connect or capable of connecting

noun

a thing that connects

grammar logic

a less common word for conjunction (def. 3)
any word that connects phrases, clauses, or individual words
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

botany the tissue of a stamen that connects the two lobes of the anther

anatomy a nerve-fibre bundle connecting two nerve centres

Derived forms of connective

connectively, adverbconnectivity (ˌkɒnɛkˈtɪvɪtɪ), 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

connective

Origin of connective

OTHER WORDS FROM connective

Words nearby connective

Words related to connective

How to use connective in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for connective

Derived forms of connective