correlative

C3O1R1R1E1L1A1T1I1V4E1

adjective

Mutually related; corresponding.

UncommonScrabble 16

Meanings

adjectivecorrelative (comparative more correlative, superlative most correlative)

comparative more correlative · superlative most correlative

  1. Mutually related; corresponding.
    1 more example

    If we reinterpret these phenomena in terms of a consistently game-playing model of behavior, the need to distinguish between primary and secondary gains disappears. The correlative necessity to estimate the relative significance of physiological needs and dammed-up impulses on the one hand, and of social and interpersonal factors on the other, also vanishes. Since needs and impulses cannot be said to exist in human social life without specified rules for dealing with them, instinctual needs cannot be considered solely in terms of biological rules, but must also be viewed in terms of their psychosocial significance—that is, as parts of the game.

    1974, Thomas S. Szasz, chapter 12, in The Myth of Mental Illness, →ISBN, page 200
nouncorrelative (plural correlatives)

plural correlatives

  1. formalEither of two correlative things.
    1 more example

    The actual motivation for this separation was a curious mixture of arrogance and respect: the new arrogance of the administrators abroad who faced 'backward populations' or 'lower breeds' found its correlative in the respect of old-fashioned statesmen at home who felt that no nation had the right to impose its law upon a foreign people.

    1951, Hannah Arendt, “The Political Emancipation of the Bourgeoisie”, in The Origins of Totalitarianism (A Harvest/HBJ Book), new edition, San Diego, Calif.; New York, N.Y.: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, published 1973, →ISBN, part 2 (Imperialism), page 131

    Synonyms: equivalent, analogue

  2. grammarA pro-form; a non-personal pronominal, proadjectival, or proadverbial form

Synonyms & antonyms

nounEither of two correlative things.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivemutually related

adjectiveexpressing a reciprocal or complementary relation

nouneither of two or more related or complementary variables

Similar
Broader
variablevariable quantity

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Translations

Catalan correlatiu
  • correlatiumutually related
Esperanto korelativa
  • korelativamutually related
Finnish korreloiva, korrelatiivinen
  • korreloivamutually related
  • korrelatiivinenmutually related
  • korrelaatticorrelative thing
  • vastegrammar term
French corrélatif, corrélatif
  • corrélatifmutually related
  • corrélatifgrammar term
Indonesian korelatif
  • korelatifmutually related
Polish powiązany, korelatywny
  • powiązanymutually related
  • korelatywnymutually related
  • korelacyjnymutually related
  • korelatcorrelative thing
  • korelatgrammar term
  • spójnik korelacyjnygrammar term
Spanish correlativo, correlato
  • correlativomutually related
  • correlatocorrelative thing
Cite this entry
APA

correlative. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/correlative

MLA

“correlative.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/correlative. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “correlative,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/correlative.

Source: correlative on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.