How to Use adoptive in a Sentence

adoptive

adjective
  • Beth’s adoptive mother brought enough heart to warm the whole thing up.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 14 July 2021
  • So, who is Aileen Wuornos' adoptive mom?
    — Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025
  • This meant her adoptive mother could work part-time and spend more time with the girl.
    — Keith Bierygolick, Cincinnati.com, 12 July 2018
  • Hunter found out about the program in her foster care and adoptive group.
    — Alana Minkler, The Arizona Republic, 13 July 2020
  • Carter last year filed a lawsuit against the boys' adoptive parents.
    — Carol Robinson | [email protected], al, 13 Nov. 2020
  • Many of my friends never knew that Beth was my adoptive daughter.
    — Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 13 May 2024
  • The order would apply even if an adoptive parent does not agree.
    — Nikita Stewart, New York Times, 7 Aug. 2019
  • None of the dogs’ adoptive parents know the outcome of the bowl or how much air time their pup will see.
    — Sue Kiesewetter, Cincinnati.com, 30 Jan. 2018
  • Now, four years later, Zach and his wife are her adoptive parents.
    — Adrienne Broaddus, CNN, 1 Oct. 2021
  • Tressie King and her husband, Jamel, along with their adoptive son.
    — Hannah Rappleye, NBC News, 8 Dec. 2022
  • Phillips asked him to marry her and raise an adoptive child together, the suit says.
    — Maxine Bernstein, OregonLive.com, 5 Feb. 2018
  • Cristina cried the entire long flight back home with her adoptive father.
    — Eileen Finan, Peoplemag, 18 Nov. 2022
  • So-young on board with the plan to hit the road and meet with potential adoptive parents.
    — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 May 2022
  • Would-be adoptive parents confront the specter of long waiting times and high fees.
    — David Crary, The Denver Post, 30 Apr. 2017
  • Besides, the group’s officials ask, what will these refugees do in their adoptive lands?
    — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2021
  • The photo shows one of the nannies who cared for her handing her to her new adoptive mother.
    — NBC News, 12 Nov. 2021
  • One of her favorite shops in her adoptive city is Boutique de France.
    — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 3 Nov. 2023
  • He was born in Ethiopia and raised by white adoptive parents in Sweden.
    — Kelli Kennedy, OrlandoSentinel.com, 18 June 2018
  • The core idea of these stories was that orphans were fated to end up with their adoptive parents.
    — Erika Hayasaki, The Atlantic, 25 Oct. 2022
  • But when one’s adoptive home thrives, even as the home country flounders, a kind of survivor’s guilt kicks in.
    — Aatish Taseer, Time, 27 Apr. 2021
  • The new adoptive family, forming like a scar, is built on loss and breakage.
    — Krista Stevens, Longreads, 3 July 2024
  • The single man has two stepsons and an adoptive Ethiopian son.
    — Grant Segall, cleveland, 24 Oct. 2019
  • One of the first missions forces Sam to carry his own adoptive mother’s corpse on his back.
    — Adrian Chen, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2020
  • Her daughter’s adoptive parents have a nice house and three dogs that Presley loves.
    — Rita Giordano, Philly.com, 7 May 2018
  • Then, they are handed over to child protection services in each state and placed in an adoptive home.
    — Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2025
  • The shelter requires adoptive cat owners to keep the pets indoors.
    — Morgan Greene, chicagotribune.com, 28 June 2018
  • And while his architecture was his great gift to his adoptive hometown — his art was his gift to himself.
    — Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
  • And Cao and Trisolini, who are married, are adoptive parents like me.
    — Brooke Borel/undark, Popular Science, 13 May 2020
  • More than 600 pigs have found adoptive homes since the group started nearly 10 years ago.
    — Eric Adler april 26, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2026
  • More than 600 pigs have found adoptive homes since the group started nearly 10 years ago.
    — Kansas City Star, 10 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adoptive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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