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
Lloyd Morris
c
: stirring mental associations : evocative
2
: suggesting or tending to suggest something improper or indecent : risqué
suggestively
adverb
suggestiveness
noun
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
Donald Trump sued Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch and two Wall Street Journal reporters on Friday over an explosive report that the president wrote a 2003 birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein that contained suggestive language.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 18 July 2025
As the night came to a close, Jonathon was walking the Golden ladies to their bedrooms when April caught him off guard with a suggestive comment.
—Liza Esquibias, People.com, 16 July 2025
By contrast, the images of gay men are more physically suggestive but romantically ambiguous, probably because, although men’s bodies were less policed than women’s, male homosexuality was more widely criminalized.
—Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 15 July 2025
Despite the book’s suggestive title, the landscape is anything but illusory for Abbott, who grew up in Grosse Pointe and spent the first 18 years of her life there.
—Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for suggestive
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Brent Lang, Variety, 18 July 2025
As the night came to a close, Jonathon was walking the Golden ladies to their bedrooms when April caught him off guard with a suggestive comment.
—Liza Esquibias, People.com, 16 July 2025
By contrast, the images of gay men are more physically suggestive but romantically ambiguous, probably because, although men’s bodies were less policed than women’s, male homosexuality was more widely criminalized.
—Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 15 July 2025
Despite the book’s suggestive title, the landscape is anything but illusory for Abbott, who grew up in Grosse Pointe and spent the first 18 years of her life there.
—Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for suggestive
Cite this Entry
“Suggestive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suggestive. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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.
S. E. Goldfinger et al.2
: tending to act like or have the effect of suggestion
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