recessive

American  

[ri-ses-iv] / rɪˈsɛs ɪv /

adjective

1. tending to go, move, or slant back; receding.

2. Genetics. of or relating to a recessive.

3. Phonetics. (of an accent) showing a tendency to recede from the end toward the beginning of a word.

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noun

Genetics.

1. that one of a pair of alternative alleles whose effect is masked by the activity of the second when both are present in the same cell or organism.

2. the trait or character determined by such an allele.

recessive British  

/ rɪˈsɛsɪv /

adjective

1. tending to recede or go back; receding

2. genetics

   1. (of a gene) capable of producing its characteristic phenotype in the organism only when its allele is identical

   2. (of a character) controlled by such a gene Compare dominant

3. linguistics (of stress) tending to be placed on or near the initial syllable of a polysyllabic word

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noun

1. genetics

   1. a recessive gene or character

   2. an organism having such a gene or character

recessive Scientific  

/ rĭ-sĕs′ĭv /

1. Relating to the form of a gene that is not expressed as a trait in an individual unless two such genes are inherited, one from each parent. In an organism having two different genes for a trait, the recessive form is overpowered by its counterpart, or dominant, form located on the other of a pair of chromosomes. In humans, lack of dimples is a recessive trait, while the presence of dimples is dominant.

2. See more at carrier inheritance Compare dominant

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unrecessive
  adjective
• nonrecessive
  adjective
• recessiveness
  noun
• unrecessively
  adverb
• recessively
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of recessive

1665–75; < Latin recess ( us ) ( see recess) + -ive

Explanation

A recessive gene is a gene that can be masked by a dominant gene. In order to have a trait that is expressed by a recessive gene, such as blue eyes, you must get the gene for blue eyes from both of your parents. You might remember the word recessive from biology, where it most often appears. Its opposite is dominant and is always living in its shadow. A recessive allele has to team up with another recessive allele in order to show up. We can also use recessive to describe something that has the tendency to withdraw or recede, or something pertaining to an economic recession.

Example Sentences

In those cases, whether an allele is active can depend on whether it was inherited from the mother or the father rather than whether it is dominant or recessive.

From Science Daily • Jun. 1, 2026

Efforts to make it appear that one of the world’s wickedest men would be in thrall to this milky, recessive nonentity are laughable.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

Pattinson has the more recessive role but his performance is so subtle and clever that it’s worth watching closely.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 5, 2025

According to the classic theory of genetics laid out by the biologist Gregor Mendel, if both parents carry a recessive gene then there's a one in four chance that their child will inherit the condition.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2025

Since tallness was dominant, all the parental plants in this experiment were tall to start; the recessive trait had disappeared.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee