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Meaning of privative adjective | Babel Free

Noun CEFR B2

Definitions

  1. An adjective indicating that a noun refers to an object that is not of the class which that noun ordinarily refers to.
  2. An adjective indicating that a noun lacks some other noun, or a quality of that noun; usually formed in English by the affixation of the suffix -less or suffixoid -free to the noun that is absent.

Equivalents

Examples

“That's fake news.”
“Isn't that a toy sword?”
“finger + -less → fingerless”
“hope + -less → hopeless”
“heart + -less → heartless”
“sugar + -free → sugar-free”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.

See also

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