respective

adjective

re·​spec·​tive ri-ˈspek-tiv 

1

: particular, separate

their respective homes

2

obsolete : partial, discriminative

respectiveness noun

Synonyms of respective

• different
• separate

Examples of respective in a Sentence

it was late when the concert let out, so we all went our respective ways

Recent Examples on the Web

The women’s basketball teams at San Diego State (15-3, 9-0) and UC San Diego (13-6, 8-1) face tough mid-week road assignments while sitting on top of their respective conference standings. —Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026

Multiply that by all the AC units worldwide that plug away in their respective summers, and the total condensate comes down to roughly 4 billion cubic meters. —Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 26 Jan. 2026

Crucially, as reported by Complex in its reveal of the sneaker, this and the other Bin23 releases on the docket will be the only Air Jordans this year to come with retro cards, postcard-sized inserts that give historical details about the respective model. —Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 26 Jan. 2026

The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks punched their Super Bowl tickets on Sunday after tight wins over the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams in their respective conference championship games. —Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 26 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for respective

• advective
• affective
• collective
• connective
• convective
• corrective
• defective
• detective
• directive
• effective
• elective
• infective

Kids Definition

respective

adjective

re·​spec·​tive ri-ˈspek-tiv 

: not the same or shared : separate

they hurried to their respective homes