associative
adjective
as·so·cia·tive
| \ ə-ˈsō-shē-ˌā-tiv
, -sē-, -shə-tiv
\
, -sē-, -shə-tiv
\
Definition of associative
1
: of or relating to association especially of ideas or images
2
: dependent on or acquired by association or learning
3
: of, having, or being the property of combining to the same mathematical result regardless of the grouping of an expression's elements given that the order of those elements is preserved
addition is associative since (a + b) + c = a + (b + c)
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Other Words from associative
associatively
adverb
associativity
\ -ˌsō-shē-ə-ˈti-və-tē
, -sē- , -shə-ˈti- \
noun
, -sē- , -shə-ˈti- \
noun
Examples of associative in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Odd Future’s yin-and-yang leaders—were the pioneers of a certain type of genre-agnostic, free-associative music, and Brockhampton is one of its beneficiaries. — Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, "Brockhampton Grows Up," 2 Sep. 2019 Berman was generous, even regal, in his free associative poetry, but also fragile. — Thomas Beller, Los Angeles Times, "The joys and heartbreak of my 20-year friendship with poet-songwriter David Berman," 12 Aug. 2019 That’s sort of the associative power, the Pavlov’s Dog that the Right has. — Time, "Arturo Castro Thought There Weren’t Enough Latino Characters on TV. So He Decided to Play Them All Himself," 11 June 2019 This Gucci collection was as ‘full of little things’ as always, many of them deeply personal—there’s comfort in the familiar, even for a guy as free associative as Alessandro Michele. — Nicole Phelps, Vogue, "The Top Shows of Milan Fashion Week Fall 2019," 25 Feb. 2019 Cities all have associative colors, says interior designer Sig Bergamin. — Elise Taylor, Vogue, "Sig Bergamin Wrote the Book on Maximalism, and His New York Apartment Proves It," 20 Dec. 2018 Trying to absorb Martin’s long, free-associative list of her beliefs while also looking at her paintings would surely defeat the mental clarity that Martin sought to achieve in making her art. — Edith Newhall, Philly.com, "In Philly galleries now: Bergstrom bags, a subtle modern master, Fleisher/Ollman's 'Party'," 12 July 2018 The nonlinear, associative libretto by Yona Kim — who also directed the gripping staging, set in what seems to be a decaying 19th-century salon — swerves from Berlin to Moscow and from Paris to Riga. — New York Times, "Hannah Arendt and Walter Benjamin Don’t Talk. They Sing.," 24 June 2018 And the plot, with its elaborate weave of suspicion and misdirection, has been distilled into a series of associative montages. — Justin Chang, chicagotribune.com, "'The Green Fog' review: A scrambled history of San Francisco and an homage to 'Vertigo'," 26 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'associative.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for associative
associative
adjective
as·so·cia·tive
| \ ə-ˈsō-shē-ˌā-tiv
, -shə-tiv\
, -shə-tiv\
Kids Definition of associative
: relating to or being a property of a mathematical operation (as addition or multiplication) in which the result does not depend on how the elements are grouped
The associative property of addition states that (2 + 3) + 1 and 2 + (3 + 1) will both have a sum of 6.
associative
adjective
as·so·cia·tive
| \ ə-ˈsō-s(h)ē-ˌāt-iv
, -shət-iv
\
, -shət-iv
\
Medical Definition of associative
1
: of or relating to association especially of ideas or images
an associative symbol
2a
: dependent on or characterized by association
an associative reaction
b
: acquired by a process of learning
an associative reflex