Definition of NORMATIVE

Other Words from normative

normatively adverb

normativeness noun

Thus the normativeness of truth is preserved, along with its transcendence of what is presently assertible … — Colin McGinn

normativity \ ˌnȯr-mə-ˈti-və-tē

\ noun, plural normativities

In our world of shifting gender normativity and embrace of non-traditional expression, the beauty world is reaching out to men—both with products that fit into masculine grooming routines, and ones that break all barriers. — Samuel Hine … notes that speaking up about being abused or assaulted is an opportunity to challenge the normativity of sexual violence. — Leslie Sarinana

Examples of normative in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But White says its role in the international community does give the agency normative authority among member states, which typically recognize it as the world’s foremost public health agency. — Amy Mckeever, National Geographic, "Here's what we'll lose if the U.S. cuts ties with the WHO," 10 July 2020 Fixating purely on geopolitical reasons to curb digital harms in the US can also do damage beyond distracting from its normative importance. — Justin Sherman, Wired, "The Protests Prove the Need to Regulate Surveillance Tech," 9 June 2020 Over the past two generations, co-dependency in the mother-child relationship has become normative, and this is yet another manifestation. — John Rosemond, chicagotribune.com, "Living with Children: The ‘portal’ lures parents into micromanaging school work," 30 Oct. 2019 Communication campaigns from public health officials could also start reinforcing normative behaviors by recommending healthy activities that can reduce the boredom or loneliness of social distancing measures. — Jon-patrick Allem, The Conversation, "Social media fuels wave of coronavirus misinformation as users focus on popularity, not accuracy," 6 Apr. 2020 Tattoos covered both of his arms — a style element that my teenage children tell me is now considered normative. — New York Times, "When the Teenager or Young Adult Has Cancer," 6 Feb. 2020 On one side stood the humanitarians, who viewed the EU as a normative power, a shining light on a hill. — The Economist, "Charlemagne Europe hopes brutality at the border will keep refugees away," 12 Mar. 2020 Other elements of a normative social media culture can also be difficult for people with disabilities. — Jessica Chiu, chicagotribune.com, "On YouTube, people with disabilities create content to show and normalize their experiences," 11 Oct. 2019 For one, this is a very gender normative way to measure handsomeness. — oregonlive, "Portland named 5th most-handsome city in the U.S.," 12 Dec. 2019

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