I've
1 Americansuffix
-
(forming adjectives) indicating a tendency, inclination, character, or quality
divisive
prohibitive
festive
massive
-
( forming nouns of adjectival origin )
detective
expletive
contraction
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
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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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.