adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A grammatical construct that expresses approximation.

   "In Example 6, we can see speakers using the vague approximatives 'two or three' and 'one or two'."

Adjective

1. 1
   Of, relating to, or being an estimate or approximation.

Adjective

1. 1
   not quite exact or correct wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

approachingapproximateattractedcaseclosecoming

Example

More examples

"In Example 6, we can see speakers using the vague approximatives 'two or three' and 'one or two'."

Etymology

From approximate + -ive.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.