additive
[ad′ə tiv]additive definition by Webster's New World
adjective
- showing or relating to addition
- to be added
Origin: Late Latin additivus: see add
noun
a substance added to another in small quantities to produce a desired effect, as a preservative added to food or an antiknock added to gasoline
additive definition by American Heritage Dictionary
noun
A substance added in small amounts to something else to improve, strengthen, or otherwise alter it.
adjective- Marked by, produced by, or involving addition.
- Of or being any of certain primary colors of wavelengths that may be mixed with one another to produce other colors. See Table at color.
Related Forms:
- adˈdi·tive·ly adverb
- adˌdi·tivˈi·ty noun
additive - Medical Definition
noun
A substance added in small amounts to something else to improve, strengthen, or otherwise alter it.
Related Forms:
- additive adjective
additive - Science Definition
Noun
A substance added in small amounts to something else to improve, strengthen, or otherwise alter it. Additives are used for a variety of reasons. They are added to food, for example, to enhance taste or color or to prevent spoilage. They are added to gasoline to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, and to plastics to enhance molding capability.
Adjective- Relating to the production of color by the mixing of light rays of varying wavelengths. ♦ The additive primaries red, green, and blue are those colors whose wavelengths can be mixed in different proportions to produce all other spectral colors. Compare subtractive. See Note at color.
- Mathematics Marked by, produced by, or involving addition.
