privative

[ priv-uh-tiv ]

/ ˈprɪv ə tɪv /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR privative ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Words nearby privative

private-line car, privateer, privateersman, privation, privatism, privative, privatization issue, privatize, privet, privet hawk, privilege

Origin of privative

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

OTHER WORDS FROM privative

priv·a·tive·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for privative

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
This elevation of the privative into a contrary, or a contradictory, has been the bane of metaphysical reasoning.
The Religious Sentiment|Daniel G. Brinton
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
The ancient name, from privative and , meaning unwetted, the smooth foliage repelling rain-drops.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray

Privative Terms connote the absence of a quality that normally belongs to the kind of thing denoted, as 'blind' or 'deaf.'
Logic|Carveth Read

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

adjective

noun

Content related to privative

Words related to privative

Words nearby privative

Origin of privative

OTHER WORDS FROM privative

Examples from the Web for privative

British Dictionary definitions for privative

adjective

Derived forms of privative

Word Origin for privative