intransitive

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: in=tran=si=tive

CIDE DICTIONARY

intransitive, a. [L. intransitivus: cf. F. intransitif. See In- not, and Transitive.].

•  Not passing farther; kept; detained.  [1913 Webster]

  "And then it is for the image's sake and so far is intransitive; but whatever is paid more to the image is transitive and passes further."  [1913 Webster]
•  Not transitive; not passing over to an object; expressing an action or state that is limited to the agent or subject, or, in other words, an action which does not require an object to complete the sense; as, an intransitive verb, e. g., the bird flies; the dog runs.  [1913 Webster]

  " Intransitive verbs have no passive form. Some verbs which appear at first sight to be intransitive are in reality, or were originally, transitive verbs with a reflexive or other object omitted; as, he keeps (i. e., himself) aloof from danger. Intransitive verbs may take a noun of kindred signification for a cognate object; as, he died the death of a hero; he dreamed a dream. Some intransitive verbs, by the addition of a preposition, become transitive, and so admit of a passive voice; as, the man laughed at; he was laughed at by the man."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

intransitive, adj. (of a verb or sense of a verb) that does not take or require a direct object (whether expressed or implied), e.g. look in look at the sky (opp. TRANSITIVE).

Derivative

intransitively adv. intransitivity n.

Etymology

LL intransitivus (as IN-(1), TRANSITIVE)

THESAURUS

intransitive

adjectival, adverbial, attributive, auxiliary, auxiliary verb, conjunctive, copula, copulative, correct, defective verb, deponent verb, finite verb, formal, functional, glossematic, grammatic, impersonal verb, infinitive, intransitive verb, linking, linking verb, modal auxiliary, neuter verb, nominal, participial, postpositional, prepositional, pronominal, structural, substantive, syntactic, tagmemic, transitive, verb, verb phrase, verbal

ROGET THESAURUS

intransitive

Diuturnity

N diuturnity, a long time, a length of time, an age, a century, an eternity, slowness, perpetuity, blue moon, coon's age, dog's age, durableness, durability, persistence, endlessness, lastingness, continuance, standing, permanence, survival, survivance, longevity, distance of time, protraction of time, prolongation of time, extension of time, delay, durable, lasting, of long duration, of long-standing, permanent, endless, chronic, long-standing, intransient, intransitive, intransmutable, persistent, lifelong, livelong, longeval, long-lived, macrobiotic, diuturnal, evergreen, perennial, sempervirent, sempervirid, unrelenting, unintermitting, unremitting, perpetual, lingering, protracted, prolonged, spun out, long-pending, long-winded, slow, long, for a long time, for an age, for ages, for ever so long, for many a long day, long ago, longo intervallo, all the day long, all the year round, the livelong day, as the day is long, morning noon and night, hour after hour, day after day, for good, permanently.