copulative

[ kop-yuh-ley-tiv, -luh-tiv ]

/ ˈkɒp yəˌleɪ tɪv, -lə tɪv /

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adjective

serving to unite or couple.

Grammar.

involving or consisting of connected words or clauses: a copulative sentence.
pertaining to or serving as a copula; serving to connect subject and complement: a copulative verb.
serving to connect nouns, noun phrases, verbs, clauses, etc.: a copulative conjunction.
of the dvandva type: Bittersweet is a copulative compound.

of or relating to sexual intercourse.

noun

Grammar. a copulative word.

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Origin of copulative

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English copulatif, from Middle French copulatif, copulative, from Late Latin cōpulātīvus; see copulate, -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM copulative

cop·u·la·tive·ly, adverb

Words nearby copulative

Coptic Church, co-publish, copula, copulate, copulation, copulative, copulative asyndeton, copy, copybook, copyboy, copycat

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

How to use copulative in a sentence

A conjunction copulative; a gallant match between your daughter and Raymond Mounchensey, young juventus.
A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 10 (of 15)|Various
The suspender of the larger copulative cell preserves its primitive form and becomes scarcely any larger.
Fungi: Their Nature and Uses|Mordecai Cubitt Cooke
That no number of connected singular nouns can govern a plural verb, unless they be connected by a copulative conjunction.
A Handbook of the English Language|Robert Gordon Latham
Murray admits of only the dis-junctive and copulative, and reduces the whole list of words to twenty-four.
Lectures on Language|William S. Balch

It is a copulative conjunction, connecting the two members of the sentence—he will adopt if he can procure: Rule, as above.
Lectures on Language|William S. Balch

British Dictionary definitions for copulative

copulative

/ (ˈkɒpjʊlətɪv) /

adjective

serving to join or unite

of or characteristic of copulation

grammar (of a verb) having the nature of a copula

Derived forms of copulative

copulatively, 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