substitutive
Americanadjective
-
serving as or capable of serving as a substitute.
-
pertaining to or involving substitution.
Usage
What does substitutive mean? Substitutive is an adjective that describes a thing capable of taking the place of or that has taken the place of another.It can also be used to describe anything that involves such a substitution.Substitutive is an adjective form of the word substitute, which can be used as both a verb (to replace something with another thing) or as a noun (something that replaces something else).The similar adjective substitutable can mean capable of being used as a substitute, but it probably more often means capable of being replaced. The adjective substituent can mean the same thing as substituted or substitutable.Example: These safety measures are not meant to be substitutive—they’re being implemented in addition to the current plan.
Other Word Forms
- nonsubstitutive adjective
- substitutively adverb
- unsubstitutive adjective
Etymology
Origin of substitutive
First recorded in 1590–1600; substitute + -ive
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.
The concern, I think I, and some other folks who watch this industry have, is that this type of automation is purely substitutive.
From The Verge • Mar. 23, 2021
By contrast, performance-improving innovations either create few new jobs because they’re substitutive, or they destroy jobs through gains in productivity.
From Forbes • Oct. 15, 2014
"Gee, I've found a friend," said Oscar, who once confessed that his troubles revolved around "acute anxieties, ritualistic compulsions, substitutive obsessions and irrational hostilities."
From Time Magazine Archive
Following Stout, substitutive signs are characterized thus: "a word is an instrument for thinking about the meaning which it expresses; a substitutive sign is a means of not thinking about the meaning which it symbolizes."
From Creative Intelligence Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude by Bode, Boyd H.
Only the concept of stability must be extended in their case, since not always the same, but only substitutive parts of the organic systems tend towards stability.
From A Review of the Systems of Ethics Founded on the Theory of Evolution by Williams, C. M.
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.
