transitive

[ tran-si-tiv, -zi- ]

adjective

Grammar. having the nature of a transitive verb.
characterized by or involving transition; transitional; intermediate.

passing over to or affecting something else; transeunt.
Mathematics. noting a relation in which one element in relation to a second element and the second in relation to a third element implies the first element is in relation to the third element, as the relation “less than or equal to.”

noun

Grammar. a transitive verb.

Origin of transitive

First recorded in 1550–60; from Late Latin trānsitīvus, equivalent to Latin trānsit(us) (see transition) + -īvus -ive

Other words from transitive

tran·si·tive·ly, adverb
tran·si·tive·ness, tran·si·tiv·i·ty, noun
non·tran·si·tive, adjective, noun
non·tran·si·tive·ly, adverb
non·tran·si·tive·ness, noun
un·tran·si·tive, adjective
un·tran·si·tive·ly, adverb
un·tran·si·tive·ness, noun

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

How to use transitive in a sentence

Shakespeare uses the verb transitively several times, but in the sense of reconcile; as in Rich.
The Lady of the Lake | Sir Walter Scott
Milton uses it transitively in Lycidas, 29: "Battening our flocks with the fresh dews of night."
The Lady of the Lake | Sir Walter Scott
Dare, to lurk, or cause to lurk; used both transitively and intransitively.
Notes and Queries, Number 188, June 4, 1853 | Various
Did the act of conquering pass transitively over from Cæsar to Pompey?
Lectures on Language | William S. Balch
Shakespeare uses the verb both transitively and intransitively.
The New Hudson Shakespeare: Julius Caesar | William Shakespeare

British Dictionary definitions for transitive

transitive

/ (ˈtrænsɪtɪv) /

adjective

grammar
- denoting an occurrence of a verb when it requires a direct object or denoting a verb that customarily requires a direct object: ``to find'' is a transitive verb
- (as noun): these verbs are transitives
grammar denoting an adjective, such as fond, or a noun, such as husband, that requires a noun phrase and cannot be used without some implicit or explicit reference to such a noun phrase

logic maths having the property that if one object bears a relationship to a second object that also bears the same relationship to a third object, then the first object bears this relationship to the third object: mathematical equality is transitive, since if x = y and y = z then x = z

Origin of transitive

C16: from Late Latin transitīvus from Latin transitus a going over; see transient

Compare intransitive

Derived forms of transitive

transitively, adverb
transitivity or transitiveness, 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

Scientific definitions for transitive

transitive

[ trăn′sĭ-tĭv ]

Of or relating to a mathematical or logical relation between three elements such that if the relation holds between the first and second elements and between the second and third elements, it necessarily holds between the first and third elements. The relation of being greater than in mathematics is transitive, since if a > b and b > c, then a > c.

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