constructive
adj/kənˈstɹʌktɪv/
Etymology From Latin cōnstrūctīvus. By surface analysis, construct + -ive.
1
Relating to or causing construction.
2
Carefully considered and meant to be helpful.
3
Serving a useful purpose.
4
Law Deemed after the fact to exist or to have occurred, despite the formal process not having been followed; often when there was no intention to do so at the time.
- constructive dismissal
- constructive notice
1 more example
- constructive trust
5
Not direct or expressed, but inferred.
- A President's power begins slipping away the moment it is known that he is going to leave: I had seen that in 1952, in 1960, in 1968. On the eve of my resignation I knew that my role was already a symbolic one, and that Gerald Ford's was now the constructive one. My telephone calls and meetings and decisions were now parts of a prescribed ritual aimed at making peace with the past; his calls, his meetings, and his decisions were already the ones that would shape America's future.1978, Richard Nixon, “The Presidency 1973–1974”, in RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 1077:
- Derived terms
27 terms
coconstructive, constructive criticism, constructive dismissal, constructive eviction, constructive force, constructive fraud, constructive interference, constructive logic, constructively, constructive malice, constructive memory, constructiveness, constructive notice, constructive treason, constructive trust, constructivism, constructivist, constructivization, constructivize, deconstructive, inconstructive, misconstructive, nonconstructive, preconstructive, superconstructive, unconstructive, visuoconstructive