additive

adjective

ad·di·tive | \ˈa-də-tiv

Definition of additive

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : of, relating to, or characterized by addition an additive process

2 : produced by addition

3 : characterized by, being, or producing effects (such as drug responses or gene products) that when the causative factors act together are the sum of their individual effects

additive

noun

Definition of additive (Entry 2 of 2)

: a substance added to another in relatively small amounts to effect a desired change in properties food additives

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Examples of additive in a Sentence

Adjective

certain drugs have additive effects when taken in conjunction with each other that one doesn't see when any one is used alone

Noun

a gasoline additive to reduce pollution

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

The rest is an additive effect provided by the expansion of happy little plants. — Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, "Carpeting Sahara with wind and solar farms could make it rain," 8 Sep. 2018 But each one is still additive to the overall picture. — Nicholas Thompson, WIRED, "How Facebook Wants to Improve the Quality of Your News Feed," 23 May 2018 Ketamine augments the brain's ability to change, which could explain why talk therapy might be additive. — Moises Velasquez-manoff, WIRED, "Ketamine Stirs Up Hope—and Controversy—as a Depression Drug," 8 May 2018 To me, doing something additive to the DC Universe and affirmative of its ongoing legacy of superheroics with many faces, which the God of Superheroes notes in the finale, is an honorable achievement. — Graeme Mcmillan, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Justice League of America' Writer Dissects a Year of Storytelling," 27 Apr. 2018 And auto-industry designers use additive manufacturing techniques to rework the shape of a fender. — Chris Morris, Fortune, "Your Next Home Could Be 3D-Printed," 23 Apr. 2018 The best part of making comics as a team is that back and forth excitement as the story expands with each creative partner's additive concepts. — Will Nevin, OregonLive.com, "Interview | Writer Ryan O'Sullivan, artist Plaid Klaus go inside Image Comics' 'Void Trip'," 16 Apr. 2018 Last year, Auburn was named as one of only eight universities in the world by General Electric for its additive education program. — William Thornton, AL.com, "Auburn University establishing two additive manufacturing centers," 20 Mar. 2018 The scientists fed fatty foods to one group of mice, and a second group ate non-fatty fish oil additive foods. — Susan Scutti, CNN, "Health effects of fish oil: Where do we stand?," 1 Mar. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Some are concerned by harmless additives in tap water, such as disinfectants and fluoride, which effectively reduces tooth decay. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Meet “raw” water—ludicrously priced unfiltered water with random bacteria," 3 Jan. 2018 All foods are free of trans fats, artificial colors, sweeteners, other artificial additives and GMO’s, according to the eatery. — Sheila Vilvens, Cincinnati.com, "CoreLife Eatery brings fresh, healthy food options to Hyde Park," 10 July 2018 The chips have fewer calories and lower sodium and fat content than their more conventional grocery store rivals, are non-GMO and don’t have any artificial colors or additives. — Kavita Daswani, latimes.com, "4 ideas for guilt-free summer snacking," 7 July 2018 Engelman also advises patients to skip products with fragrances or additives, since both may cause irritation. — Jenna Rennert, Vogue, "The Best Face Washes to Swap Into Your Morning Routine," 28 June 2018 Foods labeled natural are minimally processed and free of artificial colors, flavors and additives. — Terri Milligan, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "A better wurst? Organic Wisconsin brats are ready for your summer grill," 22 May 2018 Common additives include water repellents, flame retardants, stiffeners, softeners, pigments, and UV inhibitors. — National Geographic, "Plastics Explained, From A to Z," 16 May 2018 Dolcia Prima and AllSweet are only available to food manufacturers as an additive. — Jean Nick, Good Housekeeping, "How Safe Is The Newest "Natural" Sugar Substitute?," 16 Sep. 2015 There are many fabric additives available, and these include molecules that absorb a high-energy ultraviolet ray, siphon off a bit of heat energy, and then re-emit the rest as a lower-energy photon: one that’s blue. — Helen Czerski, WSJ, "Behind Sparkling White Uniforms, an Optical Trick," 24 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'additive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for additive

Adjective

borrowed from Late Latin additīvus, from Latin additus (past participle of addere "to add") + -īvus -ive

Noun

derivative of additive entry 1

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Dictionary Entries near additive

additive manufacturing

Statistics for additive

Last Updated

21 Nov 2018

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for additive

The first known use of additive was in 1648

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More Definitions for additive

additive

noun

English Language Learners Definition of additive

: something (such as a chemical) that is added in small amounts to a substance to improve it in some way

See the full definition for additive in the English Language Learners Dictionary

additive

noun

ad·di·tive | \ˈa-də-tiv

Kids Definition of additive

: a substance added to another in small amounts The gasoline additive improves engine performance.

additive

adjective

ad·di·tive | \ˈad-ət-iv

Medical Definition of additive

(Entry 1 of 2)

: having or relating to a value or effect that is the sum of individual values or effects: as

a : relating to the sum of the pharmacological responses produced by the concurrent administration of two or more drugs capable of producing the same kind of effect

b : having a genetic effect that is the sum of the individual effects

Other Words from additive

additively adverb

additivity \ ˌad-ə-ˈtiv-ət-ē

\ noun plural additivities

additive

noun

Medical Definition of additive (Entry 2 of 2)

: a substance added to another in relatively small amounts to effect a desired change in properties especially : an agent added to a foodstuff to improve color, flavor, texture, or keeping qualities