subjunctive

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/səbˈd͡ʒʌŋktɪv/

adjective

Inflected to indicate that an act or state of being is possible, contingent or hypothetical, and not a fact.

Similar
subjunctive mood
OriginLatin subiunctīvus →
UncommonScrabble 25
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Meanings

adjectivesubjunctive (not comparable)

alternative abbreviation subj.

  1. not comparablegrammarInflected to indicate that an act or state of being is possible, contingent or hypothetical, and not a fact.
nounsubjunctive (countable and uncountable, plural subjunctives)

plural subjunctives · alternative abbreviation subj.

  1. abbreviationellipsisuncountablegrammarEllipsis of subjunctive mood.
  2. countableA form in the subjunctive mood.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna mood that represents an act or state (not as a fact but) as contingent or possible

Similar
subjunctive mood
Broader
moodmodemodality
Also see
conjunctivesubjunctive mood

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinsubiunctīvus“serving to join, connecting, in grammar applies to the subjunctive mode”
  2. Englishsubjunctive

From Latin subiunctīvus (“serving to join, connecting, in grammar applies to the subjunctive mode”), from subiungō (“to add, join, subjoin”), from sub- (“under”) + iungō (“to join, yoke”). See join.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ὑποτακτικός
  • ὑποτακτικός (hupotaktikós)possible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Basque subjuntibo
  • subjuntibopossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Bulgarian подчинителен
  • подчинителен (podčinitelen)possible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Catalan subjuntiu
  • subjuntiupossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Chinese Mandarin 虚拟
  • 虚拟 (xūnǐ)possible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Czech konjunktiv m or
  • konjunktiv m orpossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Finnish subjunktiivinen
  • subjunktiivinenpossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
French subjonctif
  • subjonctifpossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
German subjunktiv, subjunktivisch
  • subjunktivpossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
  • subjunktivischpossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Irish foshuiteach
  • foshuiteachpossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Italian congiuntivo
  • congiuntivopossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Lithuanian tariamoji nuosaka
  • tariamoji nuosakapossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Portuguese conjuntivo
  • conjuntivopossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Scottish Gaelic fo-leantach
  • fo-leantachpossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Spanish subjuntivo
  • subjuntivopossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Swedish konjunktiv
  • konjunktivpossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact
Tagalog pasakali
  • pasakalipossible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with subjunctive

conjunctivedisjunctive
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

subjunctive. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subjunctive

MLA

“subjunctive.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subjunctive. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “subjunctive,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subjunctive.

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