Infinitive

//ɪnˈfɪnɪtɪv// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The infinitive mood or mode (a grammatical mood).

    "The MANNERS of acting, in grammar called modes or moods, are four; Infinitive, Imperative, Indicative, Subjunctive or Conjunctive."

  2. 2
    the uninflected form of the verb wordnet
  3. 3
    A non-finite verb form considered neutral with respect to inflection; depending on language variously found used with auxiliary verbs, in subordinate clauses, or acting as a gerund, and often as the dictionary form.
  4. 4
    A verbal noun formed from the infinitive of a verb.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Formed with the infinitive. not-comparable

    "INFINITIVE MOOD or MANNER. To Have, Avoir."

  2. 2
    Unlimited; not bounded or restricted; undefined. not-comparable

    "[…] to search out in some higher region of infinitive space a spot where it was impossible for defilement to follow them […]"

Synonyms

All synonyms
auxiliaryfull infinitiveintransitivetransitive

Example

More examples

"There are two ways of using the infinitive as an adjective, 1. attributive, 2. predicative. Naturally 2. is a subject complement."

Etymology

From Middle English infenitife (“without end, in perpetuity”), from Late Latin īnfīnītīvus (“unlimited, indefinite”), from Latin īnfīnītus (“unlimited, infinite”). By surface analysis, infinite + -ive.

Related phrases

bare infinitivefull infinitiveinfinitive markerinfinitive of purposeperfect infinitivesplit an infinitivesplit infinitiveto-infinitivezu-infinitiveauxiliary verbdictionary formgrammatical mood

More for "infinitive"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

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