suggestive

adjective

sug·​ges·​tive səg-ˈje-stiv 

sə-ˈje-

1

a

: giving a suggestion : indicative

suggestive of a past era

b

: full of suggestions : stimulating thought

provided a suggestive … commentary on the era

—Lloyd Morris

c

: stirring mental associations : evocative

2

: suggesting or tending to suggest something improper or indecent : risqué

suggestively adverb

suggestiveness noun

Synonyms

• spicy
• vulgar
• blue
• lewd

Examples of suggestive in a Sentence

making unwelcome suggestive remarks to a subordinate will be regarded as sexual harassment

a haunting and suggestive song about a long-lost love

Recent Examples on the Web

Donald Trump sued Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch and two Wall Street Journal reporters on Friday over an explosive report that the president wrote a 2003 birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein that contained suggestive language. —Brent Lang, Variety, 18 July 2025

As the night came to a close, Jonathon was walking the Golden ladies to their bedrooms when April caught him off guard with a suggestive comment. —Liza Esquibias, People.com, 16 July 2025

By contrast, the images of gay men are more physically suggestive but romantically ambiguous, probably because, although men’s bodies were less policed than women’s, male homosexuality was more widely criminalized. —Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 15 July 2025

Despite the book’s suggestive title, the landscape is anything but illusory for Abbott, who grew up in Grosse Pointe and spent the first 18 years of her life there. —Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1631, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for suggestive

• congestive
• digestive
• festive
• restive

Kids Definition

suggestive

adjective

sug·​ges·​tive sə(g)-ˈjes-tiv 

1

a

: giving a suggestion : indicative

suggestive of a past era

b

: full of suggestions : stimulating thought

c

: stirring mental associations

2

: suggesting something improper or indecent

suggestively adverb

suggestiveness noun

Medical Definition

suggestive

adjective

sug·​ges·​tive sə(g)-ˈjes-tiv 

1

: serving to indicate

a butterfly-shaped red rash … is highly suggestive of the disease

—S. E. Goldfinger et al.

2

: tending to act like or have the effect of suggestion

Legal Definition

suggestive

adjective

sug·​ges·​tive

: giving a suggestion or making a hint: as

a

: being a trademark, trade dress, trade name, or service mark that requires the consumer to use thought and imagination to perceive the nature of the product or service

Note: Suggestive marks are entitled to trademark protection without proof of secondary meaning.

b

: relating to or being a lineup that in some way suggests to the witness which member of the lineup is in fact the defendant