Meanings
- not comparablegrammarIndicating an agent or agency (as -er in lexicographer).
- not comparablegrammarPertaining to a grammatical agent that performs the action of the verb.
1 more example
On the other hand, she concedes that she has been able (in however limited a fashion) to take agentive actions to facilitate others’ socialization into and through Mandarin through programmatic activities she has contributed to. Thus, agency does not necessarily result in one’s own (sinophone or other) learning goals but may mediate others’ socialization, even when the facilitating or socializing agent is not herself an expert in the Chinese language.
2015, Patricia A. Duff, Liam Doherty, “Examining Agency in (Second) Language Socialization Research”, in Ping Deters, Xuesong (Andy) Gao, Elizabeth R. Miller, Gergana Vitanova, editors, Theorizing and Analyzing Agency in Second Language Learning: Interdisciplinary Approaches (Second Language Acquisition; 84), Bristol: Multilingual Matters, →ISBN, part 1 (Theoretical Approaches to Agency), page 68
plural agentives
- human sciencesA word having an agentive construction.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂eǵ-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂éǵeti
- Proto-Italic*agō
- Latinagō
- Latinagēns
- Englishagent
- Englishagentive
Translations
Finnish agentiivinen, agentiivi
- agentiivinenindicating an agent
- agentiiviword
French agentif, agentif
- agentifindicating an agent
- agentifword
Portuguese agentivo
- agentivoindicating an agent
Spanish agentivo
- agentivoindicating an agent
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
agentive. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agentive
“agentive.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agentive. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “agentive,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agentive.
Source: agentive on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.