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consumptive

[ kuhn-suhmp-tiv ]
/ kənˈsʌmp tɪv /
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See synonyms for: consumptive / consumptives on Thesaurus.com
adjective
tending to consume; destructive; wasteful.
relating to consumption by use.
Pathology.
  1. relating to or of the nature of consumption.
  2. disposed to or affected with consumption.
noun
Older Use. a person with tuberculosis.
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Origin of consumptive

First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English adjective and noun consumptif “eliminating or reducing morbid humors or tissue; an agent that eliminates or reduces morbid humors or tissue,” from Medieval Latin consūmptīvum, noun use of adjective consūmptīvus “wasteful, destructive; suffering from pulmonary consumption”; see origin at consumption, -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM consumptive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to consumptive

devastating, harmful, immoderate, wasteful

British Dictionary definitions for consumptive

consumptive
/ (kənˈsʌmptɪv) /
adjective
causing consumption; wasteful; destructive
pathol relating to or affected with consumption, esp tuberculosis of the lungs
noun
pathol a person who suffers from consumption

Derived forms of consumptive

consumptively, adverbconsumptiveness, noun
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
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