di·vi·sive

[dih-vahy-siv, -vis-iv]
adjective
1.
forming or expressing division or distribution.
2.
creating dissension or discord.

Origin:
1590–1600; < Late Latin dīvīsīvus, equivalent to Latin dīvīs(us) (see divisible) + -īvus -ive

di·vi·sive·ly, adverb
di·vi·sive·ness, noun
non·di·vi·sive, adjective
non·di·vi·sive·ly, adverb
non·di·vi·sive·ness, noun
sem·i·di·vi·sive, adjective
sem·i·di·vi·sive·ly, adverb
sem·i·di·vi·sive·ness, noun
un·di·vi·sive, adjective
un·di·vi·sive·ly, adverb
un·di·vi·sive·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To divisive
00:10
Divisive is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
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
divisive (dɪˈvaɪsɪv) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  causing or tending to cause disagreement or dissension
2.  archaic having the quality of distinguishing
 
di'visively
 
adv
 
di'visiveness
 
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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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

divisive
c.1600, "having a quality of dividing," from L. divis-, pp. stem of dividere (see divide) + -ive. Meaning "producinbg discord" is from 1640s. Related: Divisiveness.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
It does not need to be as divisive as it seems to be.
But cars, even electric ones, are already proving more divisive than bikes.
Foreign wars, too, are less divisive this time than last.
Few science policy issues today are as complex or divisive as climate change.
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