qualitative
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Of descriptions or distinctions based on some quality rather than on some quantity.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kwahluhtaytivSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkwɑləteɪtɪv
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.
adjective
Involving distinctions based on qualities
Of descriptions or distinctions based on some quality rather than on some quantity.
chemistry
Of a form of analysis that yields the identity of a compound.
noun
Something qualitative.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Involving distinctions based on qualities
Used this way, qualitative is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use qualitative
- “Her research involved a qualitative analysis of student responses.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The act of decomposing a substance into its constituent elements.
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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.