Deteriorative

//dɪˈtɪəɹɪəɹeɪtɪv// adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Causing deterioration.

    "In this spirit, it is desirable that wars should be considered, not as an evilI whose bitterness may be redeemed by the meretricious glory which sometimes covers its atrocities with a fictitious splendour, but one which is in every way deteriorative of our happiness and prosperity — as subservient to tyranny and despotism, inimical to the rights of the people, and generally prejudicial to society."

Example

More examples

"In this spirit, it is desirable that wars should be considered, not as an evilI whose bitterness may be redeemed by the meretricious glory which sometimes covers its atrocities with a fictitious splendour, but one which is in every way deteriorative of our happiness and prosperity — as subservient to tyranny and despotism, inimical to the rights of the people, and generally prejudicial to society."

Etymology

From deteriorate + -ive.

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