adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A partitive word, phrase or case.
2. 2
   word (such a ‘some’ or ‘less’) that is used to indicate a part as distinct from a whole wordnet

Adjective

1. 1
   That divides something into parts.

   "partitive tendencies in education"

2. 2
   Indicating a part rather than the whole of something.

   "The word some is used in partitive constructions."

Adjective

1. 1
   serving to separate or divide into parts wordnet
2. 2
   indicating or characterized by or serving to create partition or division into parts wordnet
3. 3
   (Romance languages) relating to or denoting a part of a whole or a quantity that is less than the whole wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

noncombinativeseparativeseparativeseparative

Antonyms

All antonyms

combinative

Example

More examples

"partitive tendencies in education"

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English partitif, borrowed from Medieval Latin partītīvus, from Latin partītus + -īvus.

Related phrases

partitive ablativepartitive articlepartitive casepartitive dativepartitive genitive

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