Word
receptive
Phoneticsre·cep·tive, stress on the second syllable
US/ɹiˈsɛptɪv/
UK/ɹɪsˈɛptɪv/
Definition
adj. willing to listen to or accept new ideas and suggestions. You use this to describe someone who is open-minded and ready to learn.
adj. willing to consider or accept new suggestions and ideas. Often used predicatively after linking verbs like 'be', 'seem', or 'become'.
Examples
“The manager is very receptive to my new ideas.”
“The audience was surprisingly receptive to the speaker's controversial proposal for urban reform.”
“A successful diplomat must remain receptive to the subtle shifts in their counterpart's position during a negotiation.”
Examples
simple
“The manager is very receptive to my new ideas.”
contextual
“The audience was surprisingly receptive to the speaker's controversial proposal for urban reform.”
complex
“A successful diplomat must remain receptive to the subtle shifts in their counterpart's position during a negotiation.”
Usage
Typically takes the preposition 'to' when followed by an object. Often follows a linking verb.
Pitfall
receptive for the idea
receptive to the idea
The adjective receptive collocations with the preposition 'to', not 'for'.
Real-World Examples
“He has found a more receptive audience elsewhere.” “Even a temporary loosening of those patterns might make patients more receptive to recovery.” Etymology
From Late Middle English receptive, receptyue (“capable of receiving something; acting as a receptacle”), borrowed from Medieval Latin receptivus (“capable of receiving something”), from Latin receptus (“retaken, having been retaken; received, having been received”) + -īvus (suffix added to the perfect passive participial stems of verbs, forming a deverbal adjective meaning ‘doing; related to doing’). Receptus is the perfect passive participle of recipiō (“to regain possession, take back; to recapture; to receive; to accept, undertake”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards; again’) + capiō (“to capture, catch, take; to take hold, take possession; to take on; to contain, hold; to occupy; to possess; to receive, take in; to comprehend, understand; to captivate, charm”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to hold; to seize”)).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
ADJECTIVE
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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