additive
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
A substance added to another substance or product to produce specific properties in the combined substance.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
aduhtivSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈædətɪv
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A substance added to another substance or product to produce specific properties in the combined substance.
adjective
mathematics
Pertaining to addition; that can be, or has been, added.
chemistry
Pertaining to chemical addition.
mathematics
Characterized or produced by addition
mathematicsof a functionetc.
That is distributive over addition.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A substance added to another substance or product to produce specific properties in the combined substance.
'Additive' is most often used in contexts like food science or manufacturing. It's usually about substances added in small amounts to improve qualities like preservation, color, or texture. It can sometimes carry a negative connotation if perceived as artificial.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Food packaging
“This product contains no artificial colors or additives.”
Chemistry lab
“We used a special additive to increase the plastic's flexibility.”
Automotive industry
“Fuel additive can clean your engine and improve gas mileage.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use additive
- “The food additive helped keep the bread fresh longer.”noun
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.