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

While King recalls that life was never particularly difficult, her adoptive mother, who was in her 60s at the time, was unfamiliar with hairstyles that were popular. —J.m. Banks, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2025

While Ray’s character spends much of Dope Thief quietly seething at his father, his relationship with the adoptive mother in his life, Theresa, played by Kate Mulgrew, propels the series forward. —Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2025

Meanwhile, the case has prompted growing public scrutiny around guardianship laws and the standards of oversight for adoptive families. —David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025

That agency, Korea Social Service, charged a $1,500 adoption fee, as well as a $400 donation, per child from adoptive families in 1988, the commission said. —Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025

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)