Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[river1974]

Dear teachers:

What is the difference between "acceptable" and "acceptive"?

Thanks.

[pugachevV]

Acceptive is not an English word.
Acceptable means: pleasing, welcome, adequate, satisfactory, tolerable, or worthy of being accepted.
Honey is an acceptable substitute for sugar.
War is not an acceptable risk.

[bud]

That's what I thought, too, PugachevV.

Using OneLook Dictionary Search, though, there were 11 hits. The only major dictionary that has it is Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary. They say that it is a synonym for both acceptable and receptive. The other hits were not current, mainstream dictionaries

It's interesting that two of the hits were Webster's 1913 and 1828 editions. Maybe it's a word that has fallen out of use. I don't think I've ever seen/heard it before, and I wouldn't advise using it.

[river1974]

Thank you both.