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

Other Words from additive Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about additive

Keep scrolling for more

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

From the tour alone, visitors will be better prepared to identify gelato imposters: artificially flavored or additive-infused to make the product look better or last longer. — Naomi Tomky, Fortune, "How to Get a Degree in Gelato," 22 June 2019 This savings is additive, with a theoretical heavy Thunderbolt user with four active devices connected saving as much as 1.2W in total. — Jim Salter, Ars Technica, "Intel reveals final details on Ice Lake mobile CPUs," 2 Aug. 2019 These submissions can take the form of new dietary ingredient notifications or food additive petitions, which would include toxicity studies to evaluate the safety of CBD. — Scott Gottlieb, chicagotribune.com, "Former FDA commissioner: CBD craze is getting out of hand," 2 Aug. 2019 The specific question this research was looking at was whether nudges could be additive. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Small nudges add up to big electric savings," 15 Aug. 2018 But the risk is that this combination of exacting precision and stark moralism can be subtractive rather than additive. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign and policy positions, explained," 26 June 2019 Still, Comley believes that capturing performances for later viewing is additive to the business and will become standard procedure in the marketing toolkit for a show, just like the audio cast recording of a musical. — Edward Baig, USA TODAY, "Can't make it to the theater? BroadwayHD.com lets you stream Broadway instead," 6 June 2019 To be a group, those additive relationships have to satisfy certain axioms. — Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, "New Number Systems Seek Their Lost Primes," 2 Mar. 2017 One involves the use of 3D printing—an additive process involving plastic threads. — Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica, "3D-printed (and CNC-milled) guns: Nine questions you were too afraid to ask," 5 Aug. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

These changed any number of variables within the mix including type of cement powder, number and type of additives, amount of water, and time allowed for hydration. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Why Astronauts Are Growing Cement in Space," 12 Sep. 2019 After studying the harmful effects additives in our food can have on our bodies, the third teen entrepreneur, Ava Canney, a 16-year-old from Ireland, set out to help people make educated decisions about their consumption. — Claudia Harmata, PEOPLE.com, "Move Over Mr. — It's Time For Ms. Monopoly to Take Over Family Game Night," 10 Sep. 2019 But while many have speculated that vitamin E additives could be the culprit, investigators have not yet zeroed in on a specific source. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "More deaths associated with mysterious vaping illness; 11 cases reported in San Diego County," 6 Sep. 2019 And how much of these additives can be consumed before harmful effects materialized? — Risa Robinson, The Conversation, "How a person vapes, not just what a person vapes, could also play a big role in vaping harm," 13 Sep. 2019 The black tea is a strain that has a distinct lychee flavor that imparts a fruity fragrance that doesn’t come from an additive and D Cuisine also offers green, chrysanthemum and tieguanyin, an oolong variety. — Grace Wong, chicagotribune.com, "Traditional Guangdong dishes fill a void in Lincoln Park, plus more Chicago restaurant openings and closings," 7 Aug. 2019 Put more generally, the conjecture says that the additive and multiplicative properties of a set of numbers somehow force each other to behave in a certain way. — Quanta Magazine, "How a Strange Grid Reveals Hidden Connections Between Simple Numbers," 6 Feb. 2019 Various forms of barium are used as a stabilizing additive to fracking fluids, and companies including the oil field services firm Halliburton testified that using alternative products would decrease drilling productivity. — Lydia Depillis, ProPublica, "Bibles but Not Textbooks: Trump’s Tariff Exemptions Pick Winners and Losers," 22 Aug. 2019 Researchers from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology analyzed 194 plastic fragments collected from seabird guts finding additives, including UV stabilizers and flame retardants, accumulated in the birds’ soft tissue. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "Eating Even One Piece of Plastic Has Health Consequences for Baby Seabirds," 5 Aug. 2019

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

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about additive

Dictionary Entries near additive

additive manufacturing

Statistics for additive

Last Updated

12 Sep 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for additive

The first known use of additive was in 1648

See more words from the same year

Keep scrolling for more

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