con·sump·tive
kən-ˈsəm(p)-tiv 
1
: tending to consume
2
: of, relating to, or affected with consumption
consumptively
adverb
: a person affected with consumption
Examples of consumptive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Jacqueline D. Wernimont, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2024
Suddenly, even adult celebrities looked like consumptive children.
—Melissa Febos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2024
Tomas Tranströmer, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
The fresh air and mineral springs near St. Helena were reputed to be healthy for consumptives, and staying rent-free in a ghost town appealed to Louis’s imagination.
—Phyllis Rose, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2024
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Adjective
The consumptive girl, by contrast, is revealed to be scandalously untrustworthy as a contributor to the household economy and dangerously prolific in physical interactions with men.
—Jacqueline D. Wernimont, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2024
Suddenly, even adult celebrities looked like consumptive children.
—Melissa Febos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2024
Noun
The wind sighs three strong children, one consumptive and two gone.
—Tomas Tranströmer, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
The fresh air and mineral springs near St. Helena were reputed to be healthy for consumptives, and staying rent-free in a ghost town appealed to Louis’s imagination.
—Phyllis Rose, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for consumptive
Dictionary Entries Near consumptive
Cite this Entry
“Consumptive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consumptive. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
consumptive
1 of 2 adjective
con·sump·tive
kən-ˈsəm(p)-tiv
: of, relating to, or affected with consumption
consumptive
2 of 2 noun
: a person who has consumption
Medical Definition
consumptive
1 of 2 adjective
con·sump·tive
-ˈsəm(p)-tiv
: of, relating to, or affected with consumption
a consumptive cough
a consumptive child
consumptively
adverb
consumptive
2 of 2 noun
: an individual affected with consumption
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