con·sump·tive
kən-ˈsəm(p)-tiv 
1
: tending to consume
2
: of, relating to, or affected with consumption
consumptively
adverb
: a person affected with consumption
Examples of consumptive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Bruce Handy, Vulture, 20 May 2025
Betting on sports is a consumptive leisure activity.
—David B. McGarry, Baltimore Sun, 21 Apr. 2025
John Tamny, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
The wind sighs three strong children, one consumptive and two gone.
—Tomas Tranströmer, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for consumptive
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
The tone shifts, though, becoming myopic and even a little queasy once the film leaves high school behind and heads deeper into the forest, literally and figuratively, a shift that mimics the swoony, woozy, consumptive rush of first love — just what Hardwicke intended to capture.
—Bruce Handy, Vulture, 20 May 2025
Betting on sports is a consumptive leisure activity.
—David B. McGarry, Baltimore Sun, 21 Apr. 2025
Noun
Money saved is immediately loaned out by financial intermediaries (think banks) to those who have near-term consumptive desires.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
The wind sighs three strong children, one consumptive and two gone.
—Tomas Tranströmer, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for consumptive
Cite this Entry
“Consumptive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consumptive. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
consumptive
1 of 2 adjective
con·sump·tive
kən-ˈsəm(p)-tiv
: of, relating to, or affected with consumption
consumptive
2 of 2 noun
: a person who has consumption
Medical Definition
consumptive
1 of 2 adjective
con·sump·tive
-ˈsəm(p)-tiv
: of, relating to, or affected with consumption
a consumptive cough
a consumptive child
consumptively
adverb
consumptive
2 of 2 noun
: an individual affected with consumption
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share