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

See Examples For:

privative

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

From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2022

But then, the Stoics were not content with so simple a thing as mere negation, but had negative arnetic and privative, to say nothing of supernegative propositions.

From Guide to Stoicism by Stock, St. George William Joseph

The evil in matter is due to its negative or privative aspect as the formless, which makes it the cause of defect and evil.

From A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy by Husik, Isaac

Bopp’s suggestion that the Sanscrit augment was originally a privative finds support in this analogy.

From The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt With the Translation of an Unpublished Memoir by Him on the American Verb by Brinton, Daniel Garrison

For absence of good can be taken in a privative and in a negative sense.

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

Related Words

• adverse
• gloomy
• pessimistic
• unfavorable
• weak