as in intrinsic
being a part of the innermost nature of a person or thing
the proposition that liberty and justice are constitutive elements of an enlightened society
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of constitutive
Recording with the front-facing camera is a little like looking in a mirror, watching yourself as others see you, which, in the tradition of psychoanalysis, can be called constitutive of human experience.
—
Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 7 June 2025
Obviously, this dialectic has been constitutive of Gabriel Orozco’s work from the very beginning and determines it to this very day.
—Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Artforum, 1 June 2025
Latin Americans have seen themselves as constitutive of America for as long as Americans in the United States have cast Latin Americans as outsiders.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2025
Art critic Eva Diaz, writing for ArtReview, says that
Of the ‘creative’ pursuits, architecture is among the most dependent on big piles of capital in order to get its work off the ground: patronage is a constitutive yoke of the profession.
—Matt Shaw, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Homoeroticism is of course constitutive of a great deal of classical statuary.
—Richard Meyer, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2025
After his beginnings at Modern Collections, Philbrick delved into corrupt financial machinations, enabled and empowered by the secrecy and instability that are constitutive features of the contemporary-art market.
—Rosa Lyster, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2024
That could require a new constitutive assembly, with a mission, charter, and political program that speaks to all Palestinians and eschews the stale language of the old PLO, a discourse imbued with the spirit of the mid-twentieth century but with no currency in the twenty-first.
—Hussein Agha, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2021
Serge’s simultaneous ambivalence about the status of the individual and sympathetic investment in individuals (and his keen eye for particulars) provides the constitutive tension of his best fiction.
—Ben Lerner, The New York Review of Books, 29 Dec. 2022
Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 7 June 2025
Obviously, this dialectic has been constitutive of Gabriel Orozco’s work from the very beginning and determines it to this very day.
—Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Artforum, 1 June 2025
Latin Americans have seen themselves as constitutive of America for as long as Americans in the United States have cast Latin Americans as outsiders.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2025
Art critic Eva Diaz, writing for ArtReview, says that
Of the ‘creative’ pursuits, architecture is among the most dependent on big piles of capital in order to get its work off the ground: patronage is a constitutive yoke of the profession.
—Matt Shaw, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Homoeroticism is of course constitutive of a great deal of classical statuary.
—Richard Meyer, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2025
After his beginnings at Modern Collections, Philbrick delved into corrupt financial machinations, enabled and empowered by the secrecy and instability that are constitutive features of the contemporary-art market.
—Rosa Lyster, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2024
That could require a new constitutive assembly, with a mission, charter, and political program that speaks to all Palestinians and eschews the stale language of the old PLO, a discourse imbued with the spirit of the mid-twentieth century but with no currency in the twenty-first.
—Hussein Agha, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2021
Serge’s simultaneous ambivalence about the status of the individual and sympathetic investment in individuals (and his keen eye for particulars) provides the constitutive tension of his best fiction.
—Ben Lerner, The New York Review of Books, 29 Dec. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for constitutive
Adjective
-
Is your motivation for doing well extrinsic or intrinsic?—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
11 June 2025
-
This intrinsic volatility is a typical trait of new, avant-garde technologies.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2025
Adjective
-
Humans in the Loop For sure, there’s a need to celebrate the human in the loop, and the inherent value of humanity.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
-
There is an inherent asymmetry of vulnerability here; doctors and patients are not equals at the Thanksgiving table.—
Danielle Ofri,
New Yorker,
7 June 2025
Adjective
-
Becoming Prepared For Tomorrow AI is no longer a frontier test technology but is becoming an integral part of engineering excellence.—
Srinivasa Rao Bittla,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
-
At the same time, news is still an integral part of most people’s entertainment diet.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
12 June 2025
Adjective
-
Captions are essential, especially on mobile devices or in quiet settings.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
-
Emotional requirements: Compassion, patience and resilience are all essential but don’t expect emotional support in return.—
JJ Holmes,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Constitutive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/constitutive. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share