definitive

Etymology

From Middle French définitif

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈfɪn.ɪt.ɪv/

Adjective

definitive (comparative more definitive, superlative most definitive)

1. explicitly defined
2. conclusive or decisive
3. definite, authoritative and complete
   • Sir Thomas Browne

     A strict and definitive truth.

   • Prescott

     Some definitive […] scheme of reconciliation.

4. limiting; determining

   a definitive word

5. (philately) general, not issued for commemorative purposes
6. (obsolete) Determined; resolved.
   • 1604, William Shakespeare, Measure, for Measure, V. i. 424:

     Never crave him. We are definitive.

Noun

definitive (plural definitives)

1. (grammar) a word, such as a definite article or demonstrative pronoun, that defines or limits something
2. (philately) an ordinary postage stamp that is part of a series of all denominations or is reprinted as needed to meet demand

   Synonym: definitive stamp

Adverb

definitive

1. definitively

Adjective

definitive

1. inflected form of definitiv

Adjective

definitive f pl

1. Feminine plural of adjective definitivo.

Anagrams

• definitevi

Adjective

dēfīnītīve

1. vocative masculine singular of dēfīnītīvus

References

• definitive in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• definitive in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette