constructive
[kuh n-struhk-tiv]
- helping to improve; promoting further development or advancement (opposed to destructive): constructive criticism.
- of, relating to, or of the nature of construction; structural.
- deduced by inference or interpretation; inferential: constructive permission.
- Law. denoting an act or condition not directly expressed but inferred from other acts or conditions.
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Origin of constructive
Synonyms
See more synonyms for constructive on Thesaurus.com1. productive, helpful, handy, useful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for constructive
Contemporary Examples
Constructive criticism is different from people just being dicks, and I love constructive criticism.
Andrew Garfield on the Evils of Capitalism, the Hacking Scandal, and Criticism of ‘Spider-Man 2’Marlow Stern
September 10, 2014
Reformers understood that constructive societal evolution was the antidote to socialist revolution.
From The Square Deal to The New Deal: The Overlapping Political Identities of TR and FDRJohn Avlon
September 9, 2014
On Monday, European Union countries condemned the air strikes and called for a ceasefire and “constructive dialogue.”
“We have since begun a constructive dialogue with the committee on the redactions,” Price said.
White House Must Decide Who Will Be Named in the CIA ‘Torture Report’Josh Rogin, Eli Lake
August 7, 2014
So that they can return and approach the world—and approach women—with constructive confidence and calm.
Historical Examples
Vaucanson was a man of the highest order of constructive genius.
Self-HelpSamuel Smiles
He is fertile in plan and constructive in method because he has creative imagination.
Herbert HooverVernon Kellogg
The field is almost virgin, and the need for constructive programs is acute.
College TeachingPaul Klapper
With a fifty-dollar teacher, constructive work was likely lacking.
Rural Life and the Rural SchoolJoseph Kennedy
We see at once that that doctrine was not negative but positive and constructive.
History of ReligionAllan Menzies
constructive
- serving to build or improve; positiveconstructive criticism
- law deduced by inference or construction; not expressed but inferred
- law having a deemed legal effectconstructive notice
- another word for structural
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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
Word Origin and History for constructive
adj.
early 15c., "derived by interpretation," from Middle French constructif or from Medieval Latin constructivus, from Latin construct-, past participle stem of construere "to heap up" (see construction). Meaning "pertaining to construction" is from 1817; "having the quality of constructing" is from 1841. Related: Constructively. Constructive criticism is attested by 1841.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper