Definition of privative

• a. - Causing privation; depriving.
• a. - Consisting in the absence of something; not positive; negative.
• a. - Implying privation or negation; giving a negative force to a word; as, alpha privative; privative particles; -- applied to such prefixes and suffixes as a- (Gr. /), un-, non-, -less.
• n. - That of which the essence is the absence of something.
• n. - A term indicating the absence of any quality which might be naturally or rationally expected; -- called also privative term.
• n. - A privative prefix or suffix. See Privative, a., 3.