concessive

/kən'sesiv/

Definition

Adjective:
- Relating to or involving concession: Expressing or implying the act of conceding, yielding, or granting something, often in an argument or negotiation.
- Grammatical term: In grammar, describing a clause, conjunction, or construction that introduces a fact or idea which contrasts with or seems to weaken the main statement but is acknowledged as true.

Usage Examples

General Adjective:
- The negotiator made a concessive offer to break the deadlock.
- Her tone was surprisingly concessive, admitting there were flaws in her initial proposal.
Grammatical Use:
- "Although" and "even though" are concessive conjunctions.
- In the sentence "Although it was raining, we went for a walk," the first part is a concessive clause.

Advanced Usage

"Concessive clause": A dependent clause that begins with a concessive conjunction (e.g., although, though, even though, while) and expresses an idea that contrasts with the main clause.
- A concessive clause often introduces a surprising or unexpected result in the main clause.
"Concessive mood": A grammatical mood (found in some languages) used to express concession or admission.
- Scholars study the concessive mood in certain ancient languages.

Variants and Related Words

Concession (n): The act of conceding or yielding; something that is granted.
- The agreement was reached after mutual concessions.
Concede (v): To admit something is true or valid; to yield or grant.
- He had to concede defeat.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Phrases / Constructions

Concessive construction: A syntactic structure used to express concession.
- The phrase "granted that" is another example of a concessive construction.
Make a concessive gesture: To perform an action that signals yielding or compromise.
- To build trust, he decided to make a concessive gesture by withdrawing his initial demand.

Adjective