elective
[ih-lek-tiv]
- pertaining to the principle of electing to an office, position, etc.
- chosen by election, as an official.
- bestowed by or derived from election, as an office.
- having the power or right of electing to office, as a body of persons.
- open to choice; optional; not required: an elective subject in college; elective surgery.
- Chemistry. selecting for combination or action; tending to combine with certain substances in preference to others: elective attraction.
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- an optional study; a course that a student may select from among alternatives.
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Origin of elective
Synonyms
See more synonyms for elective on Thesaurus.com5. voluntary, discretionary.
Antonyms
5. required, obligatory, necessary.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for elective
Contemporary Examples
Not hard to imagine what drives this number – money, the ever swelling lubricant of elective office.
Really, sortition strikes at the tension at the heart of elective representative democracy.
But the O.R. has actually seen a huge decrease in elective surgeries.
It is not elective, it is not fun, and it certainly is not funny.
But this is really my first real role in a film where I got to play gay that was not elective.
Matt Bomer Tells the Personal Story Behind His Heartbreaking ‘Normal Heart’ PerformanceKevin Fallon
May 21, 2014
Historical Examples
On the same ground might the authority of all elective political and other posts be questioned.
FreelandTheodor Hertzka
An elective course in the history of American education is highly desirable.
College TeachingPaul Klapper
Probably no two colleges administer the elective system in the same way.
College TeachingPaul Klapper
Office Holding: Women are not eligible to any elective office.
Office Holding: Women are not eligible for any elective office.
elective
- of or based on selection by voteelective procedure
- selected by votean elective official
- having the power to elect
- open to choice; optionalan elective course of study
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- an optional course or hospital placement undertaken by a medical student
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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 elective
adj.
early 15c., from Late Latin electivus, from electus, past participle of eligere (see election). In reference to school subjects studied at the student's choice, first recorded 1847. As a noun, from 1701.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper