causative

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causative

/ˈkɔːzətɪv/ UK
/ˈkɔzətɪv/ US
[ˈkɔ.zə.ɾɪv] US
/ˈkɑzətɪv/ cot caught merger
[ˈkɑ.zə.ɾɪv] cot caught merger
/ˈkoːzətɪv/ Australia
[ˈkoː.zə.ɾɪv] Australia

Rhymes with -ɔːzətɪv

Where it comes from

From French causatif, from Latin causātīvus (“causative, pertaining to a lawsuit, accusative”), from causa (“cause”); see cause (verb) and -ive.

adjective

not comparable Acting as a cause. Causative in nature of a number of effects.
Similar: occasional
not comparable Involving, or affected by, causality. Such statistical analysis can establish correlation but cannot tell us whether the correlation is proximally causative, distally causative, or noncausative.
not comparable Expressing a cause or causation. The ablative is a causative case.

Opposite: noncausative

noun causatives

An expression of an agent causing or forcing a patient to perform an action (or to be in a certain condition).

Thesaurus

adjective

Opposite: noncausative

Translations

Every language

adj acting as a cause

Español	causativo
한국어	원인이 되는 wonini doeneun

adj linguistics: expressing cause or causation

한국어	사역 sayeok
日本語	使役 shieki
中文	使動 /使动 shǐdòng
Français	causatif

noun linguistics

한국어	사동 sadong
日本語	使役 shieki
中文	使役 shǐyì
Français	causatif, factitif
Deutsch	Kausativ
Ελληνικά	αίτιος aítios
Русский	побуди́тельный зало́г pobudítelʹnyj zalóg, понуди́тельный зало́г ponudítelʹnyj zalóg, каузати́вный зало́г kauzatívnyj zalóg, каузати́в kauzatív

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MLA

"causative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/causative. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

causative. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/causative

Chicago

"causative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/causative.

BibTeX

@misc{causative_2026,
  title = {causative},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/causative},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}