adjective
-
acquired or related by adoption
an adoptive father
-
of or relating to adoption Compare adopted
Usage
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 ).
Other Word Forms
- adoptively adverb
- unadoptive adjective
- unadoptively adverb
Etymology
Origin of adoptive
1400–50; < Latin adoptīvus; adopt, -ive; replacing late Middle English adoptife < Middle French adoptif
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I think we're the cheap option – we're the most cost effective way for the government," says adoptive parent Darren.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
But Taylor, as well as other adoptive parents, worries the government will come to rely on groups like hers.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
She says adoptive parents take on the role of "social workers, therapists, teachers as well as the mum role".
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
She said day-to-day life was "tough" and had affected her health, led to the loss of her career and the breakdown of her relationship with her daughter's adoptive father.
From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026
We will try to understand his choices by looking carefully at what is known about him and his world—his birthplace, his adoptive homes in Athens and Alexandria, his predecessors, colleagues, and enemies.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
