defunctive

D2E1F4U1N1C3T1I1V4E1

adjective

funereal or deathly

OriginLatin defunctivus →
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

adjectivedefunctive (comparative more defunctive, superlative most defunctive)

comparative more defunctive · superlative most defunctive

  1. archaicfunereal or deathly

    The road was now a black tunnel floored with the impalpable defunctive glare of the sand.

    1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Library of America, published 1985, page 13
    1 more example

    Let the priest in surplice white/That defunctive music can/ Be the death-divining swan/ Lest the requiem lack his right.

    1601, William Shakespeare, The Phoenix and the Turtle

Origin

  1. Latindefunctivus
  2. Englishdefunctive

From Latin defunctivus, from dēfūnctiō (“execution, performance, death”), from dēfungor (“to finish, perform, die”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

defunctive. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/defunctive

MLA

“defunctive.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/defunctive. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “defunctive,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/defunctive.

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