elective
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elective
- /ɪˈlɛktɪv/
Rhymes with -ɛktɪv
adjective more elective · most elective
-
Of, or pertaining to voting or elections; involving a choice between options.
1697, John Dryden, The Works of Virgil […] translated into English Verse, London: Jacob Tonson, dedicatory preface to the Marquess of Normanby,
For his Conscience could not but whisper to the Arbitrary Monarch, that the Kings of Rome were at first Elective, and Govern’d not without a Senate:
Similar: electoral · Opposite: appointive, hereditary
-
Open to choice; freely chosen; (also, usually) unnecessary; minor.
After accounting for all of my required courses, there is hardly any room in my schedule for any elective ones.
Similar: discretionary, optional, voluntary · Opposite: compulsory, mandatory, obligatory, required, involuntary
-
Scheduled and nonemergent (regardless of whether necessary or unnecessary and whether minor or serious).
It was very confusing hearing my cancer surgery being classified as "elective surgery". Am I "electing" to live rather than die?
Opposite: emergent, unscheduled
noun electives
- Something that is an option or may be freely chosen, especially a course of study. I still need to decide which electives to take along with my compulsory courses next semester.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: optional, elected, electoral, nonappointive, option, choice, selective, voluntary, facultative, discretionary, permissive, volunteer, redeeming, repurchase, buyback, traineeship
Translations
Talk about this word "elective." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/elective. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. elective. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/elective "elective." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/elective.Cite this
@misc{elective_2026,
title = {elective},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/elective},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
