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con·struc·tive

(kən-strŭktĭv)

adj.

1. Serving to improve or advance; helpful: constructive criticism.

2. Of or relating to construction; structural.

3. Law Inferred, imputed, or presumed from circumstances: The judge ruled that the tenant was subjected to a constructive eviction because the landlord had turned off all the utilities.

con·structive·ly adv.

con·structive·ness n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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