separative

[ sep-er-uh-tiv, -uh-rey- ]

/ ˈsɛp ər ə tɪv, -əˌreɪ- /

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adjective

tending to separate.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of separative

1585–95; <Late Latin sēparātīvus, equivalent to Latin sēparāt(us) separate + -īvus-ive

OTHER WORDS FROM separative

sep·a·ra·tive·ly, adverbsep·a·ra·tive·ness, nounnon·sep·a·ra·tive, adjectiveun·sep·a·ra·tive, adjective

Words nearby separative

separation of church and state, separation of powers, separation of variables, separatism, separatist, separative, separator, separatory, separatrix, Seph., Sephardi

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use separative in a sentence

She had felt the moment of detached fancy as separative, and he had now to soothe her passionate weeping.
The Nest, The White Pagoda, The Suicide, A Forsaken Temple, Miss Jones and The Masterpiece|Anne Douglas Sedgwick
Philo struggled against the separative and exclusive tendency which characterized a section of his race.
Philo-Judaeus of Alexandria|Norman Bentwich
The spread of infidelity in Germany appears to be the main cause of this separative tendency among the Pietists.
Tent Work in Palestine|Claude Reignier Conder
The other sharp, mordicant and separative that begets nothing.
A Discovrse of Fire and Salt (A Discourse of Fire and Salt)|Blaise de Vigenre

The first great feeling of separate nationalism brought in its train a whole host of new separative feelings.
Main Currents in Nineteenth Century Literature - 4. Naturalism in England|Georg Brandes

British Dictionary definitions for separative

separative

/ (ˈsɛpərətɪv, ˈsɛprə-) /

adjective

tending to separate or causing separation

Derived forms of separative

separatively, adverbseparativeness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012