causative

/ˈkɔːzətɪv/ (bre, ipa) · [kˈɔzətɪv] /ˈkɔːzətɪv/ (ame, ipa) · [kˈɑzətɪv] /ˈkȯ-zə-tiv How to pronounce causative (audio)/ (ame, mw)

causative — adjective

  • causativepositive
  • more causativecomparative
  • most causativesuperlative

1. responsible for producing a particular outcome — for example, a chemical reactio

1.形容詞C1
釋義

responsible for producing a particular outcome — for example, a chemical reaction that makes paint peel, or a policy change that brings about a drop in unemployment.

例句

Iker's research showed that lead exposure was causative of the children's learning delays.

predicative: be causative of [outcome]

Doctors are still searching for the causative factor behind Cyrus's sudden hearing loss.

attributive: causative factor / agent / role

同義詞
  • contributory

    wider — names a part-cause, not necessarily the main one

  • causal

    more general; describes any cause-and-effect link, not the cause itself

  • responsible

    everyday register; 'X is responsible for Y' instead of 'X is causative of Y'

反義詞
  • resultant

    names the outcome rather than the cause

  • incidental

    happens alongside but does not produce the outcome

文法句型

causative of [outcome]

causative in [process]

用法筆記

Frequently followed by 'of' or 'in' when used predicatively; attributively it combines tightly with a small set of nouns (factor, agent, event, role). Common in scientific, medical, and policy writing rather than everyday speech.

常見錯誤

❌The rain was very causative for the flood.
✅The rain was the main cause of the flood.
💡'causative' takes 'of' or 'in', not 'for', and reads oddly with intensifiers like 'very'.

2. (in grammar) describing a verb or sentence pattern that shows one person or thin

2.形容詞C1
釋義

(in grammar) describing a verb or sentence pattern that shows one person or thing making another do or become something — like 'darken' meaning 'cause to become dark', or 'have someone do the dishes'.

例句

Tariro asked her students to underline every causative verb in the short story.

collocation: causative verb

Aylin's English teacher introduced the causative construction 'have someone do something' last week.

collocation: causative construction

同義詞
  • factitive

    older technical term; mostly found in traditional Latin and Greek grammar books

文法句型

causative verb

causative construction

causative form

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense only appears in grammar and linguistics writing, almost always before a noun (verb, construction, form, sentence). The subject of the sentence is never 'X is causative' on its own here.

常見錯誤

❌This sentence is causative.
✅This sentence uses a causative construction.
💡linguists describe the structure as causative, not the sentence itself, so the noun is needed.