causative

[kaw-zuh-tiv]

adjective

1. acting as a cause; producing (often followed byof ).

   a causative agency; an event causative of war.

2. Grammar.,  noting causation. The causative form of to fall is to fell. Gothic -jan is a causative suffix in fulljan “to cause to be full; to fill.”

noun

1. Grammar.,  a word, especially a verb, noting causation, as made in He made me eat the apple.

causative

/ ˈkɔːzətɪv /

adjective

1. grammar relating to a form or class of verbs, such as persuade, that express causation

2. producing an effect

noun

1. the causative form or class of verbs

Other Word Forms

• causativeness noun
• causatively adverb
• causativity noun
• intercausative adjective
• noncausative adjective
• noncausatively adverb
• noncausativeness noun
• uncausative adjective
• uncausatively adverb
• uncausativeness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of causative¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin causātīvus, equivalent to causāt ( us ) caused ( causation ) + -īvus -ive

Example Sentences

“When we started these experiments, I knew we would learn more, but I honestly wasn’t convinced we would actually find the causative agent of disease.”

From Los Angeles Times

In April 2024, Mr Lowe was diagnosed by a consultant neurologist at the Southern Health Trust with a “painful trigeminal neuropathy” which had “the Covid vaccine as its main causative factor”.

From BBC

Government lawyers previously denied its actions "amount to a breach of human rights" and also denied any such alleged breach, if proven, would be "causative of Ella's injuries and death".

From BBC

In addition to diseases characterized by bone loss, Ctdnep1 has also been reported as a causative factor in medulloblastoma -- a childhood brain tumor.

From Science Daily

The governor found he lacked “insight into his criminality and the causative factors.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• creative 
• imaginative 
• innovative 
• inventive 
• seminal 
• unconventional 
• unusual