Receptive

How to spell receptive

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce receptive

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does receptive mean?

1. adjectiveWilling to consider or accept new ideas, suggestions, or feelings.

Receptive in a sentence

• The manager was surprisingly receptive to the proposed budget changes.

• A good audience stays calm and receptive during a long presentation.

Where does receptive come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb recipere, meaning 'to take back' or 'to receive', which was formed from the prefix re- ('back') and capere ('to take'). The past participle of recipere was receptus, and from this Latin scholars built the Medieval Latin adjective receptivus, describing something 'capable of receiving'. English adopted the word in the early 1500s, initially in technical and scholastic writing about the mind's ability to take in impressions and ideas. The same capere root quietly sits inside a whole family of relatives such as 'receive', 'reception', and 'capable', which is a useful clue that the middle of the word is spelled 'cept' and not 'sept'. The modern sense, being open and willing to take in new ideas or feelings, grew naturally from that original idea of taking something in.

How the word is built

• re- (back)
• cept (take, from Latin capere)
• -ive (tending to)