quantitative

Sometimes quan·ti·tive

[kwon-ti-tey-tiv]

adjective

1. that is or may be estimated by quantity.

2. of or relating to the describing or measuring of quantity.

3. of or relating to a metrical system, as that of classical verse, based on the alternation of long and short, rather than accented and unaccented, syllables.

4. of or relating to the length of a spoken vowel or consonant.

quantitative

/ ˈkwɒntɪtətɪv, -ˌteɪ- /

adjective

1. involving or relating to considerations of amount or size Compare qualitative

2. capable of being measured

3. prosody denoting or relating to a metrical system, such as that in Latin and Greek verse, that is based on the relative length rather than stress of syllables

Other Word Forms

• quantitatively adverb
• quantitively adverb
• quantitativeness noun
• quantitiveness noun
• nonquantitative adjective
• nonquantitativeness noun
• unquantitative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of quantitative¹

First recorded in 1575–85; from Medieval Latin quantitātīvus, equivalent to Latin quantitāt- (stem of quantitās “amount”) + -īvus adjective suffix; quantity, -ive

Related Words

• extensive 
• indiscriminate 
• large-scale 
• sweeping