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contractive

 [kuhn-trak-tiv]  

con·trac·tive

   [kuhn-trak-tiv]
adjective
1.
serving or tending to contract.
2.
capable of contracting.
Origin:
1615–25; contract + -ive

Related forms
con·trac·tive·ly, adverb
con·trac·tive·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Contractive is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
contraction (kənˈtrækʃən)
 
—n
1.  an instance of contracting or the state of being contracted
2.  physiol any normal shortening or tensing of an organ or part, esp of a muscle, e.g. during childbirth
3.  pathol any abnormal tightening or shrinking of an organ or part
4.  a shortening of a word or group of words, often marked in written English by an apostrophe: I've come for I have come
 
con'tractive
 
—adj
 
con'tractively
 
—adv
 
con'tractiveness
 
—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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