divisive
Americanadjective
-
causing or tending to cause disagreement or dissension
-
archaic having the quality of distinguishing
Other Word Forms
- divisively adverb
- divisiveness noun
- nondivisive adjective
- nondivisively adverb
- semidivisive adjective
- semidivisively adverb
- undivisive adjective
- undivisively adverb
Etymology
Origin of divisive
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Late Latin dīvīsīvus, equivalent to Latin dīvīs(us) ( divisible ) + -īvus adjective suffix ( -ive )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I think it will be unfair on some people," said the 46-year-old security guard, adding that he thought it could be divisive.
From BBC
The group most recently reissued its pivotal, if divisive, 1996 album “Load” in a gigantic box set last year.
From Los Angeles Times
But not all of his achievements have been popular - and some have been highly divisive.
From BBC
The last of those cuts was unusually divisive, with Powell arguing in favor to insure against the risks of a sharper slowdown in the labor market.
"What we're dealing with here is an issue that is divisive, where people have different feelings depending on where they come from. It's something that we have to respect," he said.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
