1. expressing or implying the absence or lack of something
Usage: grammar; linguistics
2. causing deprivation or loss
Usage: formal

1. a word or affix that expresses negation or absence
Usage: grammar; linguistics

Examples

• The prefix ‘un-‘ is a privative element in words like ‘unhappy’.
• In linguistics, privative adjectives indicate the absence of a quality.
• The word ‘blind’ can be analyzed as having a privative meaning.
• Privative prefixes are common in English word formation.
• The privative nature of the term suggests a lack rather than presence.
• Students studied privative constructions in their grammar class.
• The privative suffix changed the word’s meaning completely.