Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old French
Origin: Latin -ivus

-ive

 suffix
     
-ive [in nouns and adjectives]
someone or something that does something or can do something:
an explosive (=substance that can explode)
a detective (=someone who tries to discover facts about crimes)
the adoptive parents (=who adopt a child)
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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