responsive — Reacting quickly and positively to something; showing sensitivity to the needs or wishes of others.
Part of speech: ADJECTIVE
Definition: Reacting quickly and positively to something; showing sensitivity to the needs or wishes of others.
Pronunciation (IPA): /rɪˈspɑːnsɪv/
Example Sentences
- My phone is so responsive that it starts typing before I even touch it—wait, that's just autocorrect going crazy.
- Civil servants are expected to be responsive to the needs of the public they serve.
- Our team leader is very responsive; she replies to emails within minutes, even at midnight.
responsive
ADJECTIVE[/rɪˈspɑːnsɪv/]
Reacting quickly and positively to something; showing sensitivity to the needs or wishes of others.
While the old button machine stayed completely dead to touch, the modern touch screen was highly responsive to every swipe.
RESPOND (reply) + IVE (tending) — by always tending to RESPOND (reply) quickly to signals, the system proved it was responsive.
Tracking the daily progress to achieve ultimate success, the team remained highly responsive to feedback.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
Responsive derives from Latin respondere, meaning 'to answer' or 'to pledge in return.' The word combines re- (back, again) and spondere (to promise, to pledge), literally meaning 'to promise back' or 'to answer back.' The adjective form responsive emerged to describe something quick to respond or readily reacting.
Breakdown
re- (back, again) + spondere (to promise, pledge) → respond (to answer) + -ive (adjective suffix indicating tendency or quality) = responsive (tending to respond, quick to react).
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“My phone is so responsive that it starts typing before I even touch it—wait, that's just autocorrect going crazy.”
“Civil servants are expected to be responsive to the needs of the public they serve.”
“Our team leader is very responsive; she replies to emails within minutes, even at midnight.”
“The government agency launched a survey to become more responsive to citizen complaints.”
“My dog is more responsive to snacks than to any command I give.”
📚Related Words
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