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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

attributive.

Modifying another word, typically a noun, while in the same phrase.

11 characters4 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/əˈtɹɪb.ju.tɪv/Received-Pronunciation/əˈtɹɪb.jə.tɪv/Canada, General-American/əˈtɹɪb.jə.ɾɪv/Canada, General-American
  1. Modifying another word, typically a noun, while in the same phrase.

    In "this big house", big is attributive, whereas in "this house is big", it is predicative.
    In "this tiger is a man-eater," man is an attributive noun.
  2. Attributing; characterized by attributing; effecting attribution.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Latin attributusbor. English attribute Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Old French -ifbor. Middle English -yf English -ive English attributive From attribute + -ive.

noun/əˈtɹɪb.ju.tɪv/Received-Pronunciation/əˈtɹɪb.jə.tɪv/Canada, General-American/əˈtɹɪb.jə.ɾɪv/Canada, General-American
  1. An attributive word or phrase (see above), contrasted with predicative or substantive.

    In "this big house," big is an attributive, while in "this house is big," it is a predicative.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Latin attributusbor. English attribute Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Old French -ifbor. Middle English -yf English -ive English attributive From attribute + -ive.

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attributive studioattributive workshello, attributive

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.