constructive
Use Constructive in a sentence
tɪv adjective
1.
constructing or tending to construct; helping to improve; promoting further development or advancement ( opposed to destructive ): constructive criticism.
2.
3.
deduced by inference or interpretation; inferential: constructive permission.
4.
Law. denoting an act or condition not directly expressed but inferred from other acts or conditions.
Origin:
1670–80; < Medieval Latin constrūctīvus, equivalent to Latin constrūct(us) (see construct) + īvus -ive
1670–80; < Medieval Latin constrūctīvus, equivalent to Latin constrūct(us) (see construct) + īvus -ive
Related forms
con·struc·tive·ly, adverb
con·struc·tive·ness, noun
non·con·struc·tive, adjective
non·con·struc·tive·ly, adverb
non·con·struc·tive·ness, noun
qua·si-con·struc·tive, adjective
qua·si-con·struc·tive·ly, adverb
un·con·struc·tive, adjective
un·con·struc·tive·ly, adverb
Synonyms
1. productive, helpful, handy, useful.
1. productive, helpful, handy, useful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To Constructive
00:10
Constructive
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
constructive (kənˈstrʌktɪv) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | serving to build or improve; positive: constructive criticism |
| 2. | law deduced by inference or construction; not expressed but inferred |
| 3. | law having a deemed legal effect: constructive notice |
| 4. | another word for structural |
| con'structively | |
| —adv | |
| con'structiveness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
constructive
early 15c., "derived by interpretation," from M.L. constructivus, from construct- , pp. stem of construere "to heap up" (see construction). Meaning "pertaining to construction" is from 1817; "having the quality of constructing" is from 1841. Constructive criticism is attested by 1841.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
constructive definition
mathematicsA proof that something exists is "constructive" if it provides a method for actually constructing it. Cantor's proof that the real numbers are uncountable can be thought of as a *non-constructive* proof that irrational numbers exist. (There are easy constructive proofs, too; but there are existence theorems with no known constructive proof).
Obviously, all else being equal, constructive proofs are better than non-constructive proofs. A few mathematicians actually reject *all* non-constructive arguments as invalid; this means, for instance, that the law of the excluded middle (either P or not-P must hold, whatever P is) has to go; this makes proof by contradiction invalid. See intuitionistic logic for more information on this.
Most mathematicians are perfectly happy with non-constructive proofs; however, the constructive approach is popular in theoretical computer science, both because computer scientists are less given to abstraction than mathematicians and because intuitionistic logic turns out to be the right theory for a theoretical treatment of the foundations of computer science.
(1995-04-13)
Example sentences
Voluntary motherhood implies a new morality-a vigorous, constructive, liberated morality.
Hoping for constructive debate in a presidential election year is naive.
Far better to declare an entire country to be doomed than to offer any constructive criticism that might improve the situation.
Concentrate on constructive activities and making improvements.
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