adoptive

adjective

adop·​tive ə-ˈdäp-tiv How to pronounce adoptive (audio)
1
: made or acquired by adoption
the adoptive father
2
: of or relating to adoption
adoptively adverb

Examples of adoptive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web After exploring a few agencies online, Taylor connected with a large Christian adoption agency that sent her profile books of prospective adoptive families. TIME, 2 Mar. 2024 Last August, officials at a fire station in Carmel, Indiana, placed a baby that had been surrendered in their baby box with an adoptive family within 12 hours. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024 And other research has shown better outcomes among transracial adoptive families in which white parents know Black history, live in diverse neighborhoods and surround themselves with Black families. Char Adams, NBC News, 25 Jan. 2024 Her adoptive mother recognized her musical talent and wrote, unsuccessfully, to the Juilliard School in New York City seeking admission for her child. Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 4 Feb. 2024 When her adoptive mother takes a case to the International Criminal Court against a man who helped to end the atrocity, Kate tries to convince her to bring the people responsible for the killings to justice. Danny Horn, EW.com, 24 Jan. 2024 On Wednesday morning, investigators arrested the boy’s adoptive mother, 37-year-old Kimberly Blakley. Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 8 Feb. 2024 Two Russian teenagers were arrested in Spain and accused of killing their adoptive mother this week. Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 8 Feb. 2024 When Julia was a girl, Hendrickson had served much the same role for her adoptive mother. Elliot Ackerman, WIRED, 7 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adoptive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English adoptif, borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French adoptif, going back to Old French, borrowed from Latin adoptīvus, from adoptāre "to adopt" + -īvus -ive

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of adoptive was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near adoptive

Cite this Entry

“Adoptive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adoptive. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

adoptive

adjective
adop·​tive ə-ˈdäp-tiv How to pronounce adoptive (audio)
: made by or associated with adoption
the adoptive parents

Legal Definition

adoptive

adjective
adop·​tive ə-ˈdäp-tiv How to pronounce adoptive (audio)
1
a
: having adopted
an adoptive parent
b
: having been adopted
an adoptive child
2
: made or acquired by accepting as one's own the words or actions of another
to constitute an adoptive admission…defendant must actually understand what was said and have an opportunity to deny itUnited States v. White, 766 F. Supp. 873 (1991)

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