adoptive
adoptive Lexical Profile
adoptive Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Related by or having become so through legal adoption rather than biological descent (typically used of parents, families, or homelands).
"Her adoptive parents supported her decision to search for her biological relatives."
In medicine and immunology, denoting or relating to the transfer of immune cells or tissues from an immunized donor to a recipient.
"The clinical trial evaluated the effectiveness of adoptive cell therapy in treating advanced melanoma."
Word Nuance & Usage
In careful usage, 'adoptive' describes the parents, family, or country that adopts (e.g., 'adoptive parents'), whereas 'adopted' describes the child or custom that is taken in (e.g., 'adopted child').
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English via Old French from Latin adoptivus, derived from adoptare ('to choose for oneself, adopt'), from ad- ('to') and optare ('to choose, wish').