protective
Americanadjective
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having the quality or function of protecting: protecting.
a protective covering.
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tending to protect.
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Economics. of, relating to, or designed to favor protectionism.
protective tariffs.
adjective
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giving or capable of giving protection
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economics of, relating to, or intended for protection of domestic industries
noun
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something that protects
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a condom
Other Word Forms
- nonprotective adjective
- nonprotectively adverb
- protectively adverb
- protectiveness noun
- semiprotective adjective
- semiprotectively adverb
- unprotective adjective
- unprotectively adverb
Etymology
Origin of protective
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the author’s sympathies extend well beyond the girls to the stalwart, fiercely protective aunt and grandmother who raise them, plus the many people who help shape their late adolescence and early adulthood.
After the firefighters testified over the course of three weeks, city attorneys invoked a general protective order that any party in the litigation can designate testimony as confidential for up to 30 days.
From Los Angeles Times
“He’s being very protective,” Bryant said of the renter, whom the group isn’t identifying to help protect the bears’ location.
From Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff, who approved the protective order, said Thursday that he wasn’t ready to give the county the green light.
From Los Angeles Times
The Pentagon’s demand for unrestricted access to Claude poses genuine dangers that warrant protective guardrails.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
