privative
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Related to privative: alpha privative
priv·a·tive
(prĭv′ə-tĭv)adj.
1. Causing deprivation, lack, or loss.
2. Grammar Altering the meaning of a term from positive to negative.
n. Grammar
A privative prefix or suffix, such as a-, non-, un-, or -less.
[Middle English privatif, from Latin prīvātīvus, from prīvātus, past participle of prīvāre, to deprive; see private.]
priv′a·tive·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
privative
(ˈprɪvətɪv)adj
1. causing privation
2. (Grammar) expressing lack or negation, as for example the English suffix -less and prefix un-
3. (Logic) logic obsolete (of a proposition) that predicates a logical privation
[C16: from Latin prīvātīvus indicating loss, negative]
ˈprivatively adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
priv•a•tive
(ˈprɪv ə tɪv)adj.
1. causing, or tending to cause, deprivation.
2. consisting in or characterized by the taking away, loss, or lack of something.
3. Gram. indicating negation or absence.
n. 4. Gram. a privative element, as a- in asymmetric.
priv′a•tive•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.