| English Dictionary |
SUBTRACTIVE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Dictionary entry overview: What does subtractive mean?
• SUBTRACTIVE (adjective)
The adjective SUBTRACTIVE has 1 sense:
1. constituting or involving subtraction
Familiarity information: SUBTRACTIVE used as an adjective is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Constituting or involving subtraction
Context example:
a subtractive correction
Similar:
ablative (tending to ablate; i.e. to be removed or vaporized at very high temperature)
reductive (characterized by or causing diminution or curtailment)
Antonym:
additive (characterized or produced by addition)
Derivation:
subtract (make a subtraction)
Context examples
Similar in result to subtractive hybridization.
(Differential Display, NCI Thesaurus)
Some members of this family were initially identified on the basis of their biological activities (e.g., IL-8, GRO), others were discovered using subtractive hybridization (e.g., RANTES) or signal sequence trap (e.g., PBSF/SDF-1)11 cloning strategies.
(Chemokine, NCI Thesaurus)
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