receptive
Americanadjective
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having the quality of receiving, taking in, or admitting.
-
able or quick to receive knowledge, ideas, etc..
a receptive mind.
-
willing or inclined to receive suggestions, offers, etc., with favor.
a receptive listener.
- Synonyms:
- open, responsive, hospitable, amenable
-
of or relating to reception or receptors
a receptive end organ.
-
(in language learning) of or relating to the language skills of listening and reading (productive ).
adjective
-
able to apprehend quickly
-
tending to receive new ideas or suggestions favourably
-
able to hold or receive
Other Word Forms
- nonreceptive adjective
- nonreceptively adverb
- receptively adverb
- receptiveness noun
- receptivity noun
- unreceptive adjective
- unreceptively adverb
Etymology
Origin of receptive
From the Medieval Latin word receptīvus, dating back to 1540–50. See reception, -ive
Explanation
To be receptive is to be open to new ideas or change. If you’re responsive to other people’s suggestions and not set in your ways, then you’re not only receptive, but flexible. The adjective receptive actually comes from a Latin word that means receive. So a receptive person is willing to receive things, especially opposing arguments, constructive criticism, and helpful hints. How receptive you are speaks to your willingness to have an impression made upon you. It can be good to be large and in charge sometimes, but you can also benefit from stepping back and being receptive to what life brings.
Vocabulary lists containing receptive
Of Mice and Men
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 4
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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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.
The second is performed less persuasively, in part because the world is now a coarse place, much less receptive to his civilized ideas.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
To Eddings’ surprise, however, Ritchie was receptive, even enthusiastic, as were his supervisors.
From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026
He tried to find a receptive audience for the name.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
“Amidst the rhetoric it’s unclear how receptive Iran is to negotiating at this early stage, with one spokesman for Iran’s military saying that the U.S. was ‘negotiating with itself,’” notes Vertical Research Partners’ Robert Stallard.
From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026
If anyone had a responsible solution to this problem, Jackson claimed to be receptive.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
