connective

/kəˈnɛktɪv/

/kəˈnɛktɪv/

Other forms: connectives; connectively

Something that's connective connects or attaches things to each other. In grammar, connective words such as "like" or "than" connect clauses or phrases.

A connective device on your computer, like a modem, connects it with the Internet, and connective tissue in your body connects organs, tissues, bones, muscles, and other body parts to each other. Sometimes a connective word or conjunction is also called a connective. The word comes from the verb connect, from the Latin root conectere, "join together."

Definitions of connective

1. adjective

   connecting or tending to connect
   “connective remarks between chapters”

   “connective tissue in animals”

   synonyms:

   conjunctive

   serving or tending to connect
2. noun

   an instrumentality that connects
   synonyms: connecter, connection, connector, connexion

   types:

   attachment, bond

   a connection that fastens things together

   backbone

   the part of a network that connects other networks together

   earth, ground

   a connection between an electrical device and a large conducting body, such as the earth (which is taken to be at zero voltage)

   hitch

   a connection between a vehicle and the load that it pulls

   hookup

   a device providing a connection between a power source and a user

   jumper

   a small connector used to make temporary electrical connections

   conjunction, junction

   something that joins or connects

   slip ring

   connection consisting of a metal ring on a rotating part of a machine; provides a continuous electrical connection through brushes on stationary contacts

   line, phone line, subscriber line, telephone circuit, telephone line

   a telephone connection

   patch, temporary hookup

   a connection intended to be used for a limited time

   coupling, yoke

   a connection (like a clamp or vise) between two things so they move together

   contact, tangency

   (electronics) a junction where things (as two electrical conductors) touch or are in physical contact

   DSL, digital subscriber line

   a generic name for digital lines that are provided by telephone companies to their local subscribers and that carry data at high speeds

   hot line

   a direct telephone line between two officials or heads of government, especially used during emergencies

   joint

   junction by which parts or objects are joined together

   booster cable, jumper cable, jumper lead, lead

   a jumper that consists of a short piece of wire

   barrier strip, junction barrier

   a junction unit for connecting 2 cables without the need for plugs

   land line, landline

   a telephone line that travels over terrestrial circuits

   ligament

   any connection or unifying bond

   party line

   a telephone line serving two or more subscribers

   private line

   a telephone line serving a single subscriber

   splice, splicing

   a junction where two things (as paper or film or magnetic tape) have been joined together

   thermojunction

   a junction between two dissimilar metals across which a voltage appears

   toll line

   a telephone line for long-distance calls

   trunk line

   a telephone line connecting two exchanges directly

   WATS, WATS line

   a telephone line;long distance service at fixed rates for fixed zones; an acronym for wide area telephone service

   type of:

   instrumentality, instrumentation

   an artifact (or system of artifacts) that is instrumental in accomplishing some end
3. noun

   an uninflected function word that serves to conjoin words or phrases or clauses or sentences
   synonyms: conjunction, conjunctive, continuative

   types:

   coordinating conjunction

   a conjunction (like `and' or `or') that connects two identically constructed grammatical constituents

   subordinate conjunction, subordinating conjunction

   a conjunction (like `since' or `that' or `who') that introduces a dependent clause

   type of:

   closed-class word, function word

   a word that is uninflected and serves a grammatical function but has little identifiable meaning