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  • I've
    I've
    contraction of I have.
  • -ive
    -ive
    a suffix of adjectives (and nouns of adjectival origin) expressing tendency, disposition, function, connection, etc..

I've

1 American  
[ahyv] / aɪv /
  1. contraction of I have.


-ive 2 American  
  1. a suffix of adjectives (and nouns of adjectival origin) expressing tendency, disposition, function, connection, etc..

    active; corrective; destructive; detective; passive; sportive.


-ive 1 British  

suffix

  1. (forming adjectives) indicating a tendency, inclination, character, or quality

    divisive

    prohibitive

    festive

    massive

  2. ( forming nouns of adjectival origin )

    detective

    expletive

"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

I've 2 British  
/ aɪv /

contraction

  1. I have

"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

Usage

See contraction.

Etymology

Origin of -ive

< Latin -īvus; in some words, representing French -ive, feminine of -if

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

"The trend is rising at the moment, so the first thing I've got to do is to stop that rise," he said.

From BBC Jul. 28, 2026

Johnnycakes, Rhode Island’s famous cornmeal pancakes, were another dish mentioned by readers that I’ve gotten to enjoy.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 28, 2026

Not every documentary I’ve worked on has gone that way.

From Salon Jul. 28, 2026

I’ve been planning to wait until 70 to begin collecting Social Security and retire ime.

From MarketWatch Jul. 28, 2026

I don’t know what numbers will be called in next week’s lotto; I’ve no idea who’ll win the Super Bowl or when Rihanna’s gonna grace us with new music.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

What should be done with the terminations -able, -ible, -tion, -cial, -tive, -ive, and -sion?

From Division of Words Rules for the Division of Words at the Ends of Lines, with Remarks on Spelling, Syllabication and Pronunciation by Hamilton, Frederick W. (Frederick William)

In Shakespeare many adjectives, especially those ending in -ful, -less, -ble, and -ive, have both an active and a passive meaning.

From The New Hudson Shakespeare: Julius Cæsar by Black, Ebenezer Charlton

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