constitutive

[ kon-sti-too-tiv, -tyoo- ]

/ ˈkɒn stɪˌtu tɪv, -ˌtyu- /

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See synonyms for constitutive on Thesaurus.com

adjective

constituent; making a thing what it is; essential.

having power to establish or enact.

Physics, Chemistry. pertaining to a molecular property determined primarily by the arrangement of atoms in the molecule rather than by their nature or number.

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Origin of constitutive

First recorded in 1585–95; constitute + -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM constitutive

con·sti·tu·tive·ly, adverb

Words nearby constitutive

Constitution clock, Constitution mirror, Constitution of the United States, Constitution State, Constitution, United States, constitutive, constr., constrain, constrained, constraint, constrict

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

How to use constitutive in a sentence

Menstrual cups are, like tampons, regulated by the FDA as medical devices, meaning the constitutive ingredients of materials like medical-grade silicone do not need to be listed.
How worried should you be about the ingredients in tampons?|Colleen Wood / Undark|November 20, 2022|Popular-Science
While there are many versions of panpsychism, the version I find appealing is known as constitutive panpsychism.
Electrons May Very Well Be Conscious - Issue 94: Evolving|Tam Hunt|December 30, 2020|Nautilus
Meanwhile, vulnerability, risk, unpredictability, and sudden transformation are the constitutive experiences of human life.
Can Heritage Foundation Posterboy Bono Save the GOP?|James Poulos|March 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They were a duality the constitutive forces of which alternately assumed supremacy.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician|Frederick Niecks

A certain theory is seen to be essential to the fact, a certain theology to be the constitutive force in the religion.
Expositor's Bible: The Second Epistle to the Corinthians|James Denney
They are a priori conditions, subjective in one sense, but objective as being universal, necessary and constitutive of experience.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5|Various
At the time that the constitutive body made this law, ten million voters were registered on the election rolls.
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte|Karl Marx
Period in which the republic is constituted, and of the Constitutive National Assembly.
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte|Karl Marx

British Dictionary definitions for constitutive

constitutive

/ (ˈkɒnstɪˌtjuːtɪv) /

adjective

having power to enact, appoint, or establish

chem (of a physical property) determined by the arrangement of atoms in a molecule rather than by their nature

biochem (of an enzyme) formed continuously, irrespective of the cell's needs

another word for constituent (def. 1)

Derived forms of constitutive

constitutively, adverb

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

constitutive

Origin of constitutive

OTHER WORDS FROM constitutive

Words nearby constitutive

Words related to constitutive

How to use constitutive in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for constitutive

Derived forms of constitutive