privative

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments (2)  · 
Asoca, from a_, privative, and soka_, grief: a play of words, as when Helen, in Euripides, is called the destroyer of ships.'

View all »
Definitions (17)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. adjective Causing deprivation, lack, or loss.
  2. adjective Grammar Altering the meaning of a term from positive to negative.
  3. noun Grammar A privative prefix or suffix, such as a-, non-, un-, or -less.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (12)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • Even though the word atheist is negatively defined, as indicated by the privative prefix —  Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines
  • Vo factors address the presence of a privative clause, the expertise of the Director, the purpose of the —  The Court
  • While the Act did not contain a privative clause, (an absence that suggests less deference to a Director's decisions), the Director in this case was entitled to more deference as a result of her presumed level of expertise, her decision-making power granted under the —  The Court
  • Dunsmuir, this analysis should include a consideration of such factors as the existence of a privative clause, the tribunal's purpose as laid out in its enabling legislation, the nature of the question (s) at issue, and the tribunal's expertise. —  The Court
  • There is nothing democratic about the decision to privative such a fundamental service as education. —  Think Progress
 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 94 times.

On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English privatif, from Latin prīvātīvus, from prīvātus, past participle of prīvāre, to deprive; see private.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = French privatif = Spanish Portuguese Italian privativo, from Late Latin privativus, denoting privation, negative, from Latin privare, past participle privatus, deprive: see private, v.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »

/ˈprɪvətɪv/
by American Heritage

Charts

frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

We are still working on calculating this word's frequency.

Recently looked up

angina · wally · nodule · womanish · elephants

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

Der dicke Dachdecker deckte dir dein Dach, drum dank dem dicken Dachdecker, dass der dicke Dachdecker dir dein Dach deckte. · weitläufig · und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind, so leben sie noch heute · redescheu · selbstverständlich