adoptive

adjective

adop·​tive ə-ˈdäp-tiv 

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

The disturbing true story of a North Carolina man who impregnated his biological daughter and then killed her, her adoptive father and his own infant son in a triple-murder-suicide is being adapted into a new Lifetime movie. —Nicole Acosta, People.com, 27 Sep. 2024

The new film sees Yelena return to her adoptive father Alexei, feeling a sense of depression following the events of that movie and Hawkeye. —Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 23 Sep. 2024

Brian Stuy, an adoptive father, founded an organization called Research-China in 2001 to help adoptees research their history. —Barbara Demick, The New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2024

State of play: Florida has become an adoptive home for many of Team USA's top Olympians, from swimmer Katie Ledecky to world's fastest man Noah Lyles. —Martin Vassolo, Axios, 5 Aug. 2024

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

Phrases Containing adoptive

• adoptive immunotherapy
• adoptive parent

Kids Definition

adoptive

adjective

adop·​tive ə-ˈdäp-tiv 

: made by or associated with adoption

the adoptive parents

Legal Definition

adoptive

adjective

adop·​tive ə-ˈdäp-tiv 

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 it

—United States v. White, 766 F. Supp. 873 (1991)