privative

[ priv-uh-tiv ]

/ ˈprɪv ə tɪv /

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adjective

causing, or tending to cause, deprivation.

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

Grammar. indicating negation or absence.

noun

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

something that is deprived.

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Origin of privative

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

OTHER WORDS FROM privative

priv·a·tive·ly, adverb

Words nearby privative

private trust, private view, private viewdata, privation, privatism, privative, privatization issue, privatize, privet, privet hawk, privilege

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use privative in a sentence

The evil in matter is due to its negative or privative aspect as the formless, which makes it the cause of defect and evil.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy|Isaac Husik
Be-adab, unmannerly, a compound adjective (Hindustani) formed by prefixing the privative particle be- to the noun adab.
A Manual of the Malay language|William Edward Maxwell
Name composed of - privative and , a bright surface, because the foliage is not shining.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray
Nearly as in Asclepias; but the hoods destitute of crest or horn (whence the name, from privative, and , a horn).
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray

From - privative, and (Latin jugum), yoke, from the seeming absence of a yoke-fellow to the lower lip of the corolla.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray

British Dictionary definitions for privative

privative

/ (ˈprɪvətɪv) /

adjective

causing privation

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

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

Derived forms of privative

privatively, adverb

Word Origin for privative

C16: from Latin prīvātīvus indicating loss, negative

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

privative

Origin of privative

OTHER WORDS FROM privative

Words nearby privative

Words related to privative

How to use privative in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for privative

Derived forms of privative

Word Origin for privative