adoptive

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/əˈdɒptɪv/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/əˈdɑptɪv/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(ə dop′tiv)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
a•dop•tive /əˈdɑptɪv/USA pronunciation   adj. [before a noun]
  1. having adopted a child:adoptive parents.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
a•dop•tive  (ə dop′tiv),USA pronunciation adj. 
  1. of or involving adoption.
  2. Pronounsacquired or related by adoption:an adoptive father or son.
  3. tending to adopt.
  • Middle French adoptif
  • Latin adoptīvus; see adopt, -ive; replacing late Middle English adoptife
  • 1400–50
a•dop′tive•ly, adv. 
    Although adoptive in the sense "acquired or related by adoption'' can refer to either parent or child in such a relationship, adoptive is customarily applied to the parent (her adoptive mother) and adopted to the child (their adopted son).
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
adoptive /əˈdɒptɪv/ adj
  1. acquired or related by adoption: an adoptive father
  2. of or relating to adoption
    Compare adopted
'adoptive' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
adopted - tug-of-love - adoptive immunity - father - foster child - foster home - mother

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "adoptive" in the title:


Look up "adoptive" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "adoptive" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!

Become a WordReference Supporter to view the site ad-free.