as in withdrawn
not comfortable around people
a recessive genius who was most comfortable working alone in his chemistry lab
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Recent Examples of recessive
Throughout the thread, dog owners shared their own pets’ surprising DNA results, with some commenting that pit bulls are known to have a wire-haired recessive gene, which may explain Cappy's coat.
—
Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 19 Feb. 2026
His presence is so recessive that the resulting footage, however cannily composed, looks, for the most part, like it was made by an unattended surveillance camera.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2026
White tigers are the result of inbreeding to preserve a rare recessive gene.
—Quinn Clark, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025
As leaders go, Dynevor (Bridgerton) is recessive and inscrutable, at least in the family get-togethers that form the narrative.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for recessive
Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 19 Feb. 2026
His presence is so recessive that the resulting footage, however cannily composed, looks, for the most part, like it was made by an unattended surveillance camera.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2026
White tigers are the result of inbreeding to preserve a rare recessive gene.
—Quinn Clark, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025
As leaders go, Dynevor (Bridgerton) is recessive and inscrutable, at least in the family get-togethers that form the narrative.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for recessive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recessive
Adjective
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Blatter also suggested that Infantino, like a lot of dictators, has started acting withdrawn.—
Chris Jones,
The Atlantic,
7 June 2026
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Patrick Stewart is also among those to have publicly discussed working with a withdrawn Hardy, who has also starred in The Dark Knight trilogy, Peaky Blinders and the Venom films.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
27 May 2026
Adjective
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Now, Perez sits just five homers shy of breaking Brett’s all-time franchise mark for home runs as a Royal.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
19 June 2026
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Farrell, who also narrates in a soft voice, often wears a look of shy incomprehension, as if a beat behind in translating the world around him, a stranger in a strange land.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
Adjective
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Nationals third baseman Curtis Mead provided the lone early damage — a two-run single off the glove of Royals second baseman Nick Loftin — to put Washington on the scoreboard.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
16 June 2026
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The district had previously named Adams as the lone finalist for the job on May 22.—
Fousia Abdullahi,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
16 June 2026
Adjective
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Infinite Black Inside is one of those introverted electronic records that puts the soul and intellect of its producer at its center, eschewing genre conventions out of emotional necessity.—
H.D. Angel,
Pitchfork,
16 June 2026
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Daniela López stars in the film as Julia, an introverted music student whose curiosity and passion for protest is awakened amid a growing feminist movement on her university campus, and with #MeToo as a backdrop.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
15 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Recessive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recessive. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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