supportive

[suh-pawr-tiv, -pohr-]

adjective

1. giving support.

2. providing sympathy or encouragement.

   His family was supportive of his attempts to be a writer.

3. providing additional help, information, etc.; auxiliary.

   manufacturers of supportive materials.

4. Medicine/Medical.,  helping to maintain a normal physiological balance, as by the intravenous administration of required nutriment.

Other Word Forms

• supportiveness noun
• nonsupportive adjective
• unsupportive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of supportive¹

First recorded in 1585–95; support + -ive

Example Sentences

Even as the bodycam footage reveals a supportive community undeserving of persistent disruption — much less preventable catastrophe — this story isn’t easy to absorb.

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Lost without her pop-star persona, Victoria leaned into the role of supportive wife.

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This “appears to be a very supportive environment” for bank deals, Fifth Third Chief Financial Officer Bryan Preston said in an interview.

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While operational metrics and momentum are supportive, its fragile balance sheet and limited share buyback activity present structural risks.

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The women said passersby offered them a mixture of “some middle fingers” and supportive honks as they held signs that read, among other things, “Would your grandma approve?”

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