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Glite Dictionary
📢 Describing facts 📢 A factual statement
constative

constative

9.9
A statement that can be seen as true or false
  • noun
  • /kənˈsteɪtɪv/
  • Specialized
translation icon : constativa
  • When he made a constative about the event, everyone agreed it could be assessed for its truthfulness.

Examples

  • The teacher explained that a constative describes facts that can be independently verified.

  • A constative, such as a weather report, can be proven true or false based on current conditions.

  • Artworks are named and produced every day, brought into being as fact and made to answer to the constative.

    Academic text (2002)

  • The difference between information and utterance must not appear in the text; if it did, the discrepancy between the constative and the performative textual components would come to light, and the attention of the one engaged in understanding would be drawn to this difference and thereby diverted.

    Academic text (2016)

Synonyms

statement
vsconstative
  • Formal
∞ 1.3

A clear report given in speech or writing, often to officials

is about whether an utterance can be judged true or false
declarative
vsconstative
  • Specialized
6.2

A sentence that states a fact or gives information

is about the truth evaluability of an utterance rather than grammar
constatation
vsconstative
9.9

A statement that says something is true, often as a starting point in an argument

focuses on describing a situation that can be judged true or false
propos
vsconstative
  • Archaic
9.9

A remark about a subject or situation

emphasizes truth evaluation rather than casual commenting or remarking

Surface Forms

constative singular
constatives plural

Etymology

The word constative comes from the Latin root constare, which means 'to stand' or 'be established', and is like the English words 'stand' and 'statement'. A constative is a statement that 'stands' as a fact, so it can be judged true or false.