suggestive

adjective

sug·​ges·​tive səg-ˈje-stiv How to pronounce suggestive (audio)
sə-ˈje-
1
a
: giving a suggestion : indicative
suggestive of a past era
b
: full of suggestions : stimulating thought
provided a suggestive … commentary on the eraLloyd Morris
c
: stirring mental associations : evocative
2
: suggesting or tending to suggest something improper or indecent : risqué
suggestively adverb
suggestiveness noun

Examples of suggestive in a Sentence

making unwelcome suggestive remarks to a subordinate will be regarded as sexual harassment a haunting and suggestive song about a long-lost love
Recent Examples on the Web The messages include pictures of meals and snacks, nude photos of an unidentified man, suggestive exchanges, and what appear to be pictures of Horner in multiple different outfits, including a jacket and pageboy cap. Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2024 That would explain all the diaphanous dresses—which had been ruched around the body in suggestive tugs and folds— inspired by the nude-illusion dress that Marilyn Monroe wore on her final public outing in 1962. Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 27 Feb. 2024 The Wendy’s representative added to PEOPLE that the chain is planning to test suggestive selling based on factors like the weather. Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024 For many mom-run accounts, comments from men — admiring, suggestive or explicit — are a recurring scourge to be eradicated, or an inescapable fact of life to be ignored. Michael H. Keller, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2024 Contains bullying, mature thematic elements related to dying and brief suggestive material. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 13 Dec. 2023 Hernández is a brilliant colorist, the vivid hues sometimes functioning in suggestive symbolic mode while always reveling in pure decorative joy. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2024 The Mayo Clinic adds that its efficacy may be related to how deeply an individual person enters the suggestive state. Delaney Nothaft, USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2024 Contains suggestive sexuality, profanity, smoking and drug use. Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'suggestive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1631, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of suggestive was in 1631

Dictionary Entries Near suggestive

Cite this Entry

“Suggestive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suggestive. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

suggestive

adjective
sug·​ges·​tive sə(g)-ˈjes-tiv How to pronounce suggestive (audio)
1
a
: giving a suggestion : indicative
suggestive of a past era
b
: full of suggestions : stimulating thought
c
: stirring mental associations
2
: suggesting something improper or indecent
suggestively adverb
suggestiveness noun

Medical Definition

suggestive

adjective
sug·​ges·​tive sə(g)-ˈjes-tiv How to pronounce suggestive (audio)
1
: serving to indicate
a butterfly-shaped red rash … is highly suggestive of the diseaseS. E. Goldfinger et al.
2
: tending to act like or have the effect of suggestion

Legal Definition

suggestive

adjective
sug·​ges·​tive
: giving a suggestion or making a hint: as
a
: being a trademark, trade dress, trade name, or service mark that requires the consumer to use thought and imagination to perceive the nature of the product or service

Note: Suggestive marks are entitled to trademark protection without proof of secondary meaning.

b
: relating to or being a lineup that in some way suggests to the witness which member of the lineup is in fact the defendant

More from Merriam-Webster on suggestive

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