privative

American  

[priv-uh-tiv] / ˈprɪv ə tɪv /

adjective

1. causing, or tending to cause, deprivation.

2. consisting in or characterized by the taking away, loss, or lack of something.

3. Grammar. indicating negation or absence.

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noun

1. Grammar. a privative element, as a- in asymmetric.

2. something that is deprived.

privative British  

/ ˈprɪvətɪv /

adjective

1. causing privation

2. expressing lack or negation, as for example the English suffix -less and prefix un-

3. obsolete logic (of a proposition) that predicates a logical privation

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Other Word Forms

• privatively adverb

Etymology

Origin of privative

1350–1400; Middle English privatif < Latin prīvātīvus. See private, -ive

Example Sentences

But Dr Bhar, a cosmetic surgeon who runs a privative clinic in Harley Street London, disagrees with the ban.

From BBC • Jan. 25, 2022

The origin of the generic name arachis is somewhat obscure; it is said to come from a, privative, and rachis, a branch, meaning having no branches, which is not true of this plant.

From The Peanut Plant Its Cultivation And Uses by Jones, B. W.

E: as prefix, is privative and means without.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.

Wherefore others said that by Circumcision grace is conferred, as to the privative effects of sin, but not as to its positive effects.

From Summa Theologica, Part III (Tertia Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint

The privative nature of evil, as it is called, is purely a figment of the brain; it is an invention of the schoolmen, which has no corresponding reality in nature.

From A Theodicy, or, Vindication of the Divine Glory by Bledsoe, Albert Taylor

Related Words

• adverse
• gloomy
• pessimistic
• unfavorable
• weak