Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com

preteritive

American  
[pri-ter-i-tiv] / prɪˈtɛr ɪ tɪv /

adjective

Grammar.

  1. (of verbs) limited to past tenses.

preteritive British  
/ prɪˈtɛrɪtɪv /

adjective

  1. (of a verb) having only past tense forms

"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

Etymology

Origin of preteritive

First recorded in 1830–40; preterit + -ive

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.