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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:

"I've always made the joke that I'll never be a Buddhist because it's a middle path," she smiles.

From BBC Sep. 6, 2026

"I've still had movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still. But that's the power structure," she added.

From Barron's Sep. 6, 2026

"I've obviously done a super-deep dive into rave culture and watched loads of rave footage from all these little free parties where they would find an empty field," he says.

From BBC Sep. 6, 2026

“There aren’t a lot like him that I’ve been around,” Telesco said.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 6, 2026

In the past week since my birthday, I’ve been on a never-ending ride of emotions.

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 Frederick W. (Frederick William) Hamilton

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 Ebenezer Charlton Black

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