nutritive
nutritive Lexical Profile
nutritive Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relating to nutrition, or providing nourishment needed for growth, health, and bodily maintenance.
"Whole grains and legumes are valued for their high nutritive content and sustained energy release."
• noun
A nourishing substance, food, or agent that promotes growth and repairs bodily tissues.
"The herbalist recommended a tonic rich in natural nutritives to help the patient recover her strength."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'nutritious' usually describes food that is healthy and nourishing in everyday speech, 'nutritive' is more formal and scientific, often used in phrases like 'nutritive value' or 'nutritive tissue' to mean relating to the biological process of nutrition.
• Rhymes for nutritive
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Old French 'nutritif', from Medieval Latin 'nutritivus', ultimately derived from the Latin verb 'nutrire' meaning 'to feed, nurse, or nourish'.