emotive

[ih-moh-tiv]

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adjective

characterized by or pertaining to emotion: the emotive and rational capacities of humankind.

productive of or directed toward the emotions: Artistic distortion is often an emotive use of form.

Origin of emotive

First recorded in 1725–35; emot(ion) + -ive

Related formse·mo·tive·ly, adverbe·mo·tive·ness, e·mo·tiv·i·ty

[ee-moh-tiv-i-tee, ih-moh-] /ˌi moʊˈtɪv ɪ ti, ɪ moʊ-/, nounhy·per·e·mo·tive, adjectivehy·per·e·mo·tive·ly, adverbhy·per·e·mo·tive·ness, nounhy·per·e·mo·tiv·i·ty, nounnon·e·mo·tive, adjectivenon·e·mo·tive·ly, adverbnon·e·mo·tive·ness, nounun·e·mo·tive, adjectiveun·e·mo·tive·ly, adverbun·e·mo·tive·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for emotive

affective, heartwarming, moving, stirring, touching, affectional

Examples from the Web for emotive

Contemporary Examples of emotive

Emotive words and evocative phrases give language its power.
How To Shrink The Pro-Israel Tent
Brent E. Sasley
April 9, 2013
It gets us over that initial, high-stakes moment of emotive acclamation, and skips straight to the conversation.
Zany, Cute, Interesting: What the Words We Use Say About Us
Benjamin Lytal
October 23, 2012
Kawakubo is not a designer who excels at communicating joy—at least not the emotive version of it.
Paris Fall 2012 Fashion Week: Haider Ackermann, Lanvin, and Comme des Garçons
Robin Givhan
March 4, 2012
Ted Wells, an emotive, powerful giant of a lawyer, is already achieving results for the embattled governor of New York.
The Scandal Guru
Lloyd Grove
March 11, 2010

Historical Examples of emotive

Grimly they pursued the way, automaton-like, unresponsive now to horror or any emotive.
The Beginning
Henry Hasse
Yet he has an emotive temperament—a glance at his sympathetic eyes will prove it.
Iconoclasts
James Huneker
Employ the emotive tone to convey ideas of your truthfulness and honor.
Certain Success
Norval A. Hawkins
Now my life was like a garden in the emotive torpor of spring; now my life was like a flower conscious of the light.
Confessions of a Young Man
George Moore
It is an emotive manifestation that stirs one's whole nature and vitalizes every part of the body.
Vitality Supreme
Bernarr Macfadden

British Dictionary definitions for emotive

emotive

adjective

tending or designed to arouse emotion

of or characterized by emotion

Derived Formsemotively, adverbemotiveness or emotivity, noun

usage

Emotional is preferred to emotive when describing a display of emotion: he was given an emotional (not emotive) welcome

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 emotive

1735, "causing movement," from Latin emot-, past participle stem of emovere (see emotion) + -ive. Meaning "capable of emotion" is from 1881; that of "evoking emotions" is from 1923, originally in literary criticism.