English Dictionary | Thesaurus | Translator | COBUILD Grammar Patterns | Scrabble | Blog
  • English
  • This page in
    American
    Italiano
    Deutsch
    Español
    Português
    हिंदी
    简体中文
| Sign Up | Log In
 
English
Menu
English Dictionary Thesaurus Translator Grammar Scrabble Blog
  • English
  • This page in
    American
    Italiano
    Deutsch
    Español
    Português
    हिंदी
    简体中文
Sign Up Log In

Definition of 'adoptive'

Word Frequency

adoptive

(ədɒptɪv )
1. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
Someone's adoptive family is the family that adopted them.
He was brought up by adoptive parents in London.
...her adoptive mother.
2. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
Someone's adoptive country or city is the one that they choose for their home, although they were not born there.
They threatened to expel him from his adoptive country.
Galway in Ireland is my adoptive home.
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency

adoptive in British

(əˈdɒptɪv )
adjective
1. 
acquired or related by adoption
an adoptive father
2. 
of or relating to adoption
Compare adopted
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency

adoptive in American

(əˈdɑptɪv ; ədäpˈtiv)
adjective
1. 
having to do with adoption
2. 
having become so by the act of adoption
adoptive parents
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
adoptively (aˈdoptively)
  adverb
Word origin of 'adoptive'
L adoptivus

Example sentences containing 'adoptive'

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…
Part of this we can attribute to the fact that his adoptive country voted to leave the European Union a few weeks earlier. Times, Sunday Times (2016)Relations with his adoptive father were fraught. Times, Sunday Times (2013)Would my birth mother have been as good a mother as my adoptive one? Times, Sunday Times (2013)His heartless adoptive mother ended up estranged from her family. The Times Literary Supplement (2011)Her adoptive mother had a circle of friends who worked in charities or at the university. Times, Sunday Times (2015)He now regards them as his unofficial adoptive brother and mother. Times, Sunday Times (2015)Her current problem is that her adoptive father owned the dodgy club in which the dead woman worked. Times, Sunday Times (2013)She tells me her father concluded she had a problem with intimacy because of the behaviour of her adoptive family. Times, Sunday Times (2010)Here, three single men recount how they became adoptive fathers. Times, Sunday Times (2007)Her adoptive father was an academic who had taught in Jamaica. Times, Sunday Times (2012)He acquired his love of horses and dogs from his adoptive mother, who adored animals. Times, Sunday Times (2014)Despite having a very happy childhood with a loving adoptive family, the still unanswered questions about her biological family nagged at the back of her mind. The Sun (2014)

Trends of 'adoptive'

Used Occasionally. adoptive is one of the 30000 most commonly used words in the Collins dictionary

View usage for:

Translations for 'adoptive'

British English: adoptive ADJECTIVE
Someone's adoptive family is the family that adopted them.
He was brought up by adoptive parents.
  • American English: adoptive
  • Brazilian Portuguese: adotivo
  • Chinese: 收养的 >家庭
  • European Spanish: adoptivo
  • French: adoptif
  • German: Adoptiv-
  • Italian: adottivo
  • Japanese: 里親の
  • Korean: 양자 관계의
  • European Portuguese: adotivo
  • Spanish: adoptivo

Translate your text for free

Nearby words of 'adoptive'

  • adoptionism
  • adoptionist
  • adoptious
  • adoptive
  • adoptively
  • adorability
  • adorable

  • All ENGLISH words that begin with 'A'

Source

Definition of adoptive from the Collins English Dictionary

The indefinite article

The indefinite article is a or an. The form an is used before a word that starts with a vowel sound. a girl a cat an eight-year-old girl an engineer The indefinite article is used with si...
Read more about 'The indefinite article'
Word of the day:
nanook
the polar bear
See full definition
Apr 26, 2018
Take better control of your finances with these simple steps
Do you find yourself living paycheque to paycheque? Dr Peter Brooks offers his advice to make that money last
Read more
The etymology behind 4 eggs-ellent Springtime words
We’ve explored the diverse etymology of 4 eggs-ellent words associated with spring.
Read more
Up Lit, Alexa Laugh & Meet Me at McDonald’s Hair: March’s Words In The News
Catch up on the latest words in the news this March with Robert Groves.
Read more
Join the Collins community
All the latest wordy news, linguistic insights, offers and competitions every month.
Read more
Scrabble score for 'adoptive': 14
Latest Word Submissions
courioglot Apr 25, 2018
breakout [sense] Apr 25, 2018
upscale [sense] Apr 25, 2018
Roblox Apr 23, 2018
kill em with kind... Apr 23, 2018
Submit View More
Browse the English Dictionary
  • #
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z
View all dictionaries...
  • View more
  • API
  • B2B Partnerships
  • Advertising
  • Word Banks
  • Collins COBUILD
  • Collins ELT
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact us
  • Languages
  • English
  • Thesaurus
  • Grammar
  • French
  • German
  • Spanish
  • Italian
  • Chinese
  • Portuguese
  • Hindi
  • Word Lists
  • Word of the Year
  • Scrabble
  • COBUILD Anniversary
© Collins 2018