WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
de•sid•er•a•tive
(di sid′ər ə tiv, -ə rā′tiv),USA pronunciation adj.
n.
- Grammarhaving or expressing desire.
- Grammar(of a verb derived from another verb) expressing desire to perform the action denoted by the underlying verb, as Sanskrit pi-patiṣ-ati "he wishes to fly'' from pát-ati, "he flies.''
n.
- Grammara desiderative verb.
- Late Latin dēsīderātīvus. See desiderate, -ive
- 1545–55
'desiderative' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):