constructive
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.
Origin of constructive
1Other words for constructive
Other words from constructive
- con·struc·tive·ly, adverb
- con·struc·tive·ness, noun
- non·con·struc·tive, adjective
- non·con·struc·tive·ly, adverb
- non·con·struc·tive·ness, noun
- qua·si-con·struc·tive, adjective
- qua·si-con·struc·tive·ly, adverb
- un·con·struc·tive, adjective
- un·con·struc·tive·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use constructive in a sentence
Republicans really are telling voters that they should elect a GOP Senate not because of the constructive steps it will take to address the coronavirus or economic crises, but instead to prevent the radical left from destroying America.
A disgusting GOP attack ad shows what’s really at stake in Georgia | Greg Sargent | December 18, 2020 | Washington PostWe welcome the full spectrum of those views and believe it is important for us to facilitate a deep and constructive conversation where all voices are heard.
I join in when support is required to maintain constructive interactions, to ask questions to stretch their thinking and to encourage them to continue to extend their skills in new ways.
Kids are sick of Zoom too—so their teachers are getting creative | Tanya Basu | December 12, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewA person familiar with the EU position said the dinner was constructive and there was a good spirit between the two leaders and their officials.
Boris Johnson faces final Sunday deadline for Brexit deal with the EU | kdunn6 | December 10, 2020 | FortuneIn an ideal world, constructive criticism from the opposition might help keep an administration sharp and focused.
Marco Rubio is already suiting up for the politics of destruction | Fred Hiatt | November 29, 2020 | Washington Post
Instead, we should use Women Against Feminism constructively, but not as a legitimate criticism (which it is certainly not).
You Don’t Hate Feminism. You Just Don’t Understand It. | Emily Shire | July 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut the populist limelight-seekers may well have trouble getting along constructively.
Elections Could Be the Beginning of the End for Europe | Tracy McNicoll, Nadette De Visser | May 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIf I can identify these things, and learn how to deal with them constructively, my recovery will progress.
Jennie Ketcham Interview: Recovering From Sex Addiction | Rachel Kramer Bussel | July 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe memoir, she explains, was an attempt to interpret the loss of eyesight constructively.
Blindness as a Way of Seeing: Candia McWilliam’s Powerful Memoir | Lucy Scholes | April 6, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTIt is my considered opinion that your time will be far more constructively spent if you devote it to helping your father.
Rescue Dog of the High Pass | James Arthur KjelgaardIt may be noted that constructively pumps are essentially reversed motors.
"You were not even constructively to blame," he hastened to say.
Empire Builders | Francis LyndeDickens was born in a debtor's prison—constructively—and he leaped from squalor into fussy opulence.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Vol. 13 | Elbert HubbardTerror was the order of the day; and it was feared that even the humble novelist might be shown to be constructively a traitor.
Caleb Williams | William Godwin
British Dictionary definitions for constructive
/ (kənˈstrʌktɪv) /
serving to build or improve; positive: constructive criticism
law deduced by inference or construction; not expressed but inferred
law having a deemed legal effect: constructive notice
another word for structural
Derived forms of constructive
- constructively, adverb
- constructiveness, 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
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