stative

American

[stay-tiv] / ˈsteɪ tɪv /

adjective

Grammar.

(of a verb) expressing a state or condition, as like, want, or believe, and usually used in simple, not progressive, tenses.

I liked them. I want some. I will never believe it.

stative British

/ ˈsteɪtɪv /

adjective

denoting a verb describing a state rather than an activity, act, or event, such as know and want as opposed to leave and throw Compare nonstative

"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

noun

a stative verb

"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

Etymology

Origin of stative

1625–35; < New Latin statīvus, Latin, equivalent to stat ( us ) (past participle of stāre to stand ) + -īvus -ive

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.

See Examples For:

stative

Indistinct!—why, the great station at Ardoch, or that at Burnswark in Annandale, may be clearer, doubtless, because they are stative forts, whereas this was only an occasional encampment.

From The Antiquary — Volume 01 by Sir Walter Scott

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023