quantitative

American  

[kwon-ti-tey-tiv] / ˈkwɒn tɪˌteɪ tɪv /

Sometimes quantitive

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.

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quantitative British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of quantitative

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

Explanation

If your boss asks you to do a quantitative analysis of this month's ice cream sales, he's not asking you to talk about how pleasant the customer interactions were. He wants numbers: how many cones did you sell of each flavor? If quantitative sounds like the word quantity to you, you're on the right track. Something that's quantitative is expressed in terms of quantity. When you're trying to figure out how well your new business is doing, there are all sorts of factors you need to think about, but only some of them can be measured in numbers. Those are quantitative. The other things, like say, how pleasant the room feels, would be qualitative, a word that's often paired with quantitative.

Example Sentences

Citi’s team of quantitative analysts has studied the market and says it’s beginning to smell like stagflation.

From MarketWatch • May 4, 2026

Fontaine argues that such problems mainly affect quantitative polling.

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

"The extent of the Milky Way's star-forming disc has long been an open question in Galactic archaeology. By mapping how stellar ages change across the disc, we now have a clear, quantitative answer."

From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2026

That fact is rarely discussed because computers are thus far unable to talk to strategists and financial media, and quantitative investors never offer insights into what drives their strategies.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

In the 1880s, still unaware of Mendel’s work, de Vries edged toward a more quantitative description of his plant experiments.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• extensive
• indiscriminate
• large-scale
• sweeping