respective
ri-SPEK-tiv/ɹɪˈspɛktɪv/
- 1Belonging to each separate person or thing, one for each.
Like when each student goes back to their own desk, not someone else's.
After the meeting, everyone went back to their respective offices.
The two boxers returned to their respective corners of the ring.
Similarindividual, particular, separate, own, specific
Note
- 2Judged by comparison with something else rather than fixed on its own.
Like calling something "big" only when you set it next to something smaller.
His sense of worth was respective, changing as his fortunes changed.
She found beauty to be respective, never the same from one age to the next.
Note
- 3Paying close attention and being careful about what is happening.
Note
Less common meanings
- 4Showing respect and proper regard toward other people.
With a respective shame, rose, took us by the hands.
[1611?], Homer, The Iliads of Homer Prince of PoetsHere, respective means showing respect toward others.a. 1598, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, instructions to his son Robert Cecil, when young With thy equals familiar, yet respective.
Here, respective means polite and showing respect.Note
- 5Having the kind of quality that makes people feel respect.
What should it be that he respects in her / But I can make respective in myself,
c. 1590, William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”Here, respective means worthy of respect, making others respect you.Note
Use it in a sentence
Write your own sentence with respective, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.
Origin
It comes from Latin, through the Medieval Latin word "respectivus," from "respectus."