suggestive

adjective

sug·​ges·​tive səg-ˈje-stiv 

sə-ˈje-

1

a

: giving a suggestion : indicative

suggestive of a past era

b

: full of suggestions : stimulating thought

provided a suggestive … commentary on the era

—Lloyd Morris

c

: stirring mental associations : evocative

2

: suggesting or tending to suggest something improper or indecent : risqué

suggestively adverb

suggestiveness noun

Synonyms

• bawdy
• blue
• gamy
• gamey
• lewd
• off
• off-color
• off-colored
• racy
• ribald
• risqué
• salty
• spicy

Examples of suggestive in a Sentence

making unwelcome suggestive remarks to a subordinate will be regarded as sexual harassment

a haunting and suggestive song about a long-lost love

Recent Examples on the Web

To emphasize this, Wolfe’s production is suggestive, even surreal. —Jesse Green, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2024

Who knows what’s actually happening inside Sheridan’s enormous ham-with-a-cowboy-hat-on head, but season five’s back half is highly suggestive of some deep inner personal truth bursting through the fictional substrate. —Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2024

Police say the man kept asking the girl suggestive questions, asked for photographs and sent some of himself. —Ron Wood, arkansasonline.com, 10 Dec. 2024

Their spinsterhood took on an ominous cast, their celibacy no longer evidence of pure, Christian love, but now suggestive of physical, emotional, and intellectual degeneracy. —Natalie Kinkade, JSTOR Daily, 25 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1631, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

suggestive

adjective

sug·​ges·​tive sə(g)-ˈjes-tiv 

1

a

: giving a suggestion : indicative

suggestive of a past era

b

: full of suggestions : stimulating thought

c

: stirring mental associations

2

: suggesting something improper or indecent

suggestively adverb

suggestiveness noun

Medical Definition

suggestive

adjective

sug·​ges·​tive sə(g)-ˈjes-tiv 

1

: serving to indicate

a butterfly-shaped red rash … is highly suggestive of the disease

—S. E. Goldfinger et al.

2

: tending to act like or have the effect of suggestion

Legal Definition

suggestive

adjective

sug·​ges·​tive

: giving a suggestion or making a hint: as

a

: being a trademark, trade dress, trade name, or service mark that requires the consumer to use thought and imagination to perceive the nature of the product or service

Note: Suggestive marks are entitled to trademark protection without proof of secondary meaning.

b

: relating to or being a lineup that in some way suggests to the witness which member of the lineup is in fact the defendant