costive

American  

[kos-tiv, kaw-stiv] / ˈkɒs tɪv, ˈkɔ stɪv /

adjective

1. suffering from constipation; constipated.

2. slow in action or in expressing ideas, opinions, etc.

3. Obsolete. stingy; tight-fisted.

---

costive British  

/ ˈkɒstɪv /

adjective

1. having constipation; constipated

2. sluggish

3. niggardly

---

Other Word Forms

• costively adverb
• costiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of costive

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from unrecorded Anglo-French costif, for Middle French costivé, past participle of costiver “to constipate,” from Latin constīpāre ( constipate )

Example Sentences

Movies coiled up in other movies have a habit of becoming either costive or cute, but somehow Falardeau avoids the traps.

From The New Yorker • May 5, 2017

His stories are carried along, too, by an exceptionally easygoing and seductive narrative voice, what the costive Henry James described as his acolyte’s enviable “flow.”

From Washington Post • Jun. 2, 2016

Yet at the same time there was something costive about Johns, in sharp contrast to the effusive generosity of Robert Rauschenberg's vision.

From Time Magazine Archive

In some cases a very furred tongue, sallow skin, and costive bowels indicate more active purgatives, which may be exhibited during the febrile stage.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

The Body is costive; the Urine very high coloured, hot, and in a small Quantity.

From Advice to the people in general, with regard to their health by Tissot, S. A. D. (Samuel Auguste David)