recessive

1 of 2

adjective

re·​ces·​sive ri-ˈse-siv 

1

a

: tending to recede

b

: withdrawn sense 2

2

a

: producing little or no phenotypic effect when occurring in heterozygous condition with a contrasting allele

recessive genes

b

: expressed only when the determining gene is in the homozygous condition

recessive traits

a recessive disease

recessively adverb

recessiveness noun

recessive

2 of 2

noun

1

: an organism possessing one or more recessive characters

2

: a recessive character or gene

Synonyms

Adjective

• backward
• bashful
• coy
• demure
• diffident
• introverted
• modest
• retiring
• self-effacing
• sheepish
• shy
• withdrawn

Examples of recessive in a Sentence

Adjective

a recessive genius who was most comfortable working alone in his chemistry lab

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Others are recessive and only show up if both copies are the same. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 23 Nov. 2024

My condition, recessive Retinitis Pigmentosa, leaves me with a four-degree central field of tunnel vision, which will go away with time. —Ingrid Barnes, refinery29.com, 20 Feb. 2024

Noun

Eliza Strickland: Geneticists talk about these genetic variants as being dominant or recessive. —IEEE Spectrum, 4 Apr. 2013

The big, accessible Now dominates a recessive, endangered Then. —Holland Cotter, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1654, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1900, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

recessive

1 of 2 adjective

re·​ces·​sive ri-ˈses-iv 

1

: tending to go back

2

: producing a bodily characteristic (as eye color) when homozygous and not masked by a copy of the gene that is dominant

recessive genes

also : exhibited by the body only when the determining gene is homozygous

blue eye color is a recessive trait

recessively adverb

recessiveness noun

recessive

2 of 2 noun

1

: a recessive characteristic or gene

2

: an individual that has one or more recessive characteristics

Medical Definition

recessive

1 of 2 adjective

re·​ces·​sive ri-ˈses-iv 

1

: producing little or no phenotypic effect when occurring in heterozygous condition with a contrasting allele

recessive genes

2

: expressed only when the determining gene is in the homozygous condition

recessive traits

recessively adverb

recessiveness noun

recessive

2 of 2 noun

1

: a recessive character or gene

2

: an organism possessing one or more recessive characters