constructive

[kuh n-struhk-tiv] /kənˈstrʌk tɪv/
adjective
1.
constructing or tending to construct; helping to improve; promoting further development or advancement (opposed to destructive):
constructive criticism.
2.
of, pertaining to, or of the nature of construction; structural.
3.
deduced by inference or interpretation; inferential:
constructive permission.
4.
Law. denoting an act or condition not directly expressed but inferred from other acts or conditions.
Origin
1670-80; < Medieval Latin constrūctīvus, equivalent to Latin constrūct(us) (see construct) + īvus -ive
Related forms
constructively, adverb
constructiveness, noun
nonconstructive, adjective
nonconstructively, adverb
nonconstructiveness, noun
quasi-constructive, adjective
quasi-constructively, adverb
unconstructive, adjective
unconstructively, adverb
Synonyms
1. productive, helpful, handy, useful.
Examples from the web for constructive
  • The trick is to channel those impulses in a constructive direction.
  • Identify student learning needs and implement constructive responses to them.
  • constructive suggestions are rare in a debate that has mixed a lot of rhetorical cant with a big principle.
  • Read the paper and give some constructive feedback.
  • So, thanks again for your great, constructive comments in defense of our native heritage.
  • The format allowed me to offer constructive criticism and ensure that their conversations remained on track during the project.
  • Toward a more rigorous and constructive dialogue on intelligent infrastructure.
  • It can be difficult to be open to constructive criticism.
  • In both instances, readers were kind enough to provide constructive criticism.
  • The reviewer comments were constructive and more-or-less aligned.
British Dictionary definitions for constructive

constructive

/kənˈstrʌktɪv/
adjective
1.
serving to build or improve; positive: constructive criticism
2.
(law) deduced by inference or construction; not expressed but inferred
3.
(law) having a deemed legal effect: constructive notice
4.
another word for structural
Derived Forms
constructively, adverb
constructiveness, noun
Word Origin and History for constructive
adj.

early 15c., "derived by interpretation," from Middle French constructif or from Medieval Latin constructivus, from Latin construct-, past participle stem of construere "to heap up" (see construction). Meaning "pertaining to construction" is from 1817; "having the quality of constructing" is from 1841. Related: Constructively. Constructive criticism is attested by 1841.

constructive in Technology

mathematics
A proof that something exists is "constructive" if it provides a method for actually constructing it. Cantor's proof that the real numbers are uncountable can be thought of as a *non-constructive* proof that irrational numbers exist. (There are easy constructive proofs, too; but there are existence theorems with no known constructive proof).
Obviously, all else being equal, constructive proofs are better than non-constructive proofs. A few mathematicians actually reject *all* non-constructive arguments as invalid; this means, for instance, that the law of the excluded middle (either P or not-P must hold, whatever P is) has to go; this makes proof by contradiction invalid. See intuitionistic logic for more information on this.
Most mathematicians are perfectly happy with non-constructive proofs; however, the constructive approach is popular in theoretical computer science, both because computer scientists are less given to abstraction than mathematicians and because intuitionistic logic turns out to be the right theory for a theoretical treatment of the foundations of computer science.
(1995-04-13)