Definition

Adjective: 1. Serving to regulate or control; having the function of imposing rules, restrictions, or standards. This describes something that creates or enforces order, often according to established principles or laws. 2. (Biology) Pertaining to the regulation of a biological process. Specifically, it can describe a gene or substance that controls the expression or activity of other genes or processes.

Usage Examples

• General Use:
  • The government established a regulative framework for data privacy.
  • The regulative principles of the organization ensure fair competition.
• Biology:
  • Scientists studied the regulative gene responsible for cell division.
  • This protein has a regulative function in the metabolic pathway.

Advanced Usage

• "Regulative principle": A fundamental rule or doctrine that guides or controls practice, often used in philosophical, theological, or legal contexts.
  • The debate centered on the application of the regulative principle in worship.
• "Regulative ideal": A concept in philosophy, particularly in the works of Immanuel Kant, denoting an idea (like justice or truth) that serves as a necessary guide for thought and action, even if it can never be fully realized in experience.
  • For Kant, the idea of a perfectly just society acts as a regulative ideal.

Variants and Related Words

• Regulate (verb): To control or direct according to a rule, principle, or law.
  • Laws exist to regulate traffic flow.
• Regulation (noun): A rule or directive made and maintained by an authority; the act of regulating.
  • The new safety regulation will take effect next month.
• Regulatory (adjective): Often used interchangeably with "regulative," but more commonly applied to official rules and authorities.
  • The company must comply with all regulatory requirements.

Synonyms

• Controlling
• Governing
• Directive
• Supervisory

Antonyms

• Deregulatory
• Permissive
• Unrestricted

Related Phrases

• Regulative role/function: Describes the specific controlling purpose of something.
  • The committee took on a regulative role in the project's development.
• Regulative mechanism: A system or process designed to control and adjust another system.
  • The body has complex regulative mechanisms to maintain a constant temperature.

Adjective

1. restricting according to rules or principles
   • a regulatory gene