constructive

Relating to or causing construction.

Adjective

  1. Relating to or causing construction.

    Antonyms: destructive

  2. Carefully considered and meant to be helpful.

    Synonyms: productive helpful useful

  3. Serving a useful purpose.
  4. 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
    • 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...

Origin

From Latin cōnstrūctīvus. By surface analysis, construct + -ive.

Forms

more constructive most constructive

Derived

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