privative adjective

English

Noun

privative adjective (plural privative adjectives)

  1. (grammar) An adjective used to show that a noun refers to something outside the category that the noun normally represents.
    Hypernyms: adjective < word < term
    That's fake news.
    (literally, “That is not news.”)
    Isn't that a toy sword?
    (literally, “That is not a genuine sword.”)
  2. (grammar) An adjective indicating that a noun lacks some other noun, or a quality of that noun; usually formed in English by the affixation of the suffix -less or suffixoid -free to the noun that is absent.
    Antonym: possessional adjective
    Hypernyms: adjective < word < term
    ‎finger + ‎-less → ‎fingerless
    ‎hope + ‎-less → ‎hopeless
    ‎heart + ‎-less → ‎heartless
    ‎sugar + ‎-free → ‎sugar-free

Translations

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