Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Grammar Expressing an action carried from the subject to the object; requiring a direct object to complete meaning. Used of a verb or verb construction.
- adjective Characterized by or involving transition.
- adjective Logic & Mathematics Of or relating to a binary relation such that, whenever one element is related to a second element and the second element is related to a third element, then the first element is also related to the third element. Examples of transitive relations are “less than” for real numbers (a < b and b < c implies a < c) and divisibility for integers (a divides b and b divides c mean that a divides c).
- noun A transitive verb.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In Eskimo gram., noting the case expressing the subject of a transitive verb and the owner of an object. Also called
subjective . - In mathematics, having the quality or power of transmutation, transmission, or transition: as, a group transitive in respect of a set of objects.
- Having the power of passing, or making transition; passing over into something.
- Effected by, or existing as the result of, transference or extension of signification; derivative; secondary; metaphorical.
- In grammar, taking a direct object; followed by a substantive in an accusative relation: said of a verb, or of the action expressed by a verb.
- Serving as a medium or means of transition.
- noun A transitive verb.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective rare Having the power of making a transit, or passage.
- adjective Effected by transference of signification.
- adjective (Gram.) Passing over to an object; expressing an action which is not limited to the agent or subject, but which requires an object to complete the sense.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Making a
transit or passage. - adjective Affected by
transference of signification. - adjective grammar, of a verb Taking an
object or objects. - adjective set theory Having the property that if an element x is related to y and y is related to z, then x is necessarily related to z.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a verb (or verb construction) that requires an object in order to be grammatical
- adjective designating a verb that requires a direct object to complete the meaning
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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One metric of trust is transitive, that is, the trustworthiness of the people who trust someone.
Trust and reputation systems: redistributing power and influence 2010
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On the one hand, the notion of transitive creature consciousness seems like a close cousin to the notion of intentionality.
Intentionality Jacob, Pierre 2003
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When the verb is transitive, that is, when the action cannot happen without affecting something, the thing affected is called the _object_.
How to Speak and Write Correctly Joseph Devlin
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Mr. Kimble, my math teacher, says that's what's called the transitive property.
NPR Topics: News 2010
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Mr. Kimble, my math teacher, says that's what's called the transitive property.
NPR Topics: News 2010
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It's called the transitive property in higher math.
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It's called the transitive property in higher math.
Denver Post: News: Breaking: Local nogop 2009
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It's called the transitive property in higher math.
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It's called the transitive property in higher math.
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It's called the transitive property in higher math.
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