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👨‍👩‍👧 Related by adoption 🌍 Chosen, not by birth
adoptive

adoptive

4 4.6
Chosen or accepted as one's own, not by birth
  • adjective
  • /əˈdɑptɪv/
translation icon : adoptivo
  • We provide professional full adoption services to birth parents, adoptive families, and adoptees.
  • adoptive land

So my, my adoptive dad, and I'm just going to call him my dad, Tony.

Examples

  • By 2009, 19 percent of same-sex couples with kids had adopted a child—a substantial rise in adoptive parenting, Gates noted.

    Blog text (26)

  • So my, my adoptive dad, and I'm just going to call him my dad, Tony.

    Gregory B. Sadler - That Philosophy Guy

  • As I grew up, my adoptive family would visit my aunt, uncle, and cousin, who lived there.

    Blog text (19)

  • First, adoptive children should receive complete medical and developmental examinations soon after their arrival in the United States.

    Academic text (2006)

  • However, as of September 11th, I've been back in my adoptive country, Turkey, and even better, Istanbul.

    Blog text (7)

  • I wasn't surprised when Sir Elton John chose Lady Gaga to be his adoptive son's Godmother.

    Blog text (30)

  • Many families choose to become adoptive parents to provide a loving home for children in need.

  • The adoptive parents attended a seminar on how to support their child's emotional needs.

  • She was grateful to her adoptive family for giving her a chance at a better life.

Synonyms

adopted
vsadoptive
3.1

A country, city, or home that someone chooses and treats as their own

is broader, applying to any chosen or legally acquired belonging

Antonyms

biological
157 4.5

Related by blood rather than by adoption or marriage

Compounds

adoptive parent
28 3.2

A person who legally takes a child and raises them as their own

Surface Forms

adoptive positive

Morphology

adoptive = adopt (transparent) = adopt + ive

Formed by the verb 'adopt' plus the adjectival suffix '-ive'; the meaning 'related to adoption' is directly derivable from the base.

Etymology

Adoptive comes from Latin parts ad- ('to') and optare ('to choose'), and it has the same root as option and opt. So when a city or country is your adoptive home, it is one you have chosen to belong to, not the place where you were born.