decausativize
decausativize verb: to function in manner that is not causative (e.g. The causative verb "melt" in He melts the ice decausativizes in The ice melts).
Verb
decausativize (third-person singular simple present decausativizes, present participle decausativizing, simple past and past participle decausativized)
- To function in manner that is not causative (e.g. The causative verb "melt" in He melts the ice decausativizes in The ice melts).
- Levin and Rappaport (1995) argue that causative verbs can decausativize when the eventualities described come about spontaneously without the external intervention of an agent.1998, Lexical Network Approach to Verbal Semantics, page 219
- Now I am ready to answer the first question — which causative verbs decausativize and which don't.2004, Journal of Slavic Linguistics: JSL. - Volume 11, Issue 1, page 181
Forms of decausativize
| third-person singular present | decausativizes |
|---|---|
| present participle | decausativizing |
| past participle | decausativized |
| past | decausativized |
| alternative form | decausativise |
Origin of decausativize
From de- + causative + -ize.
Questions about decausativize
- What does decausativize mean?
- Decausativize means to function in manner that is not causative (e.g. The causative verb "melt" in He melts the ice decausativizes in The ice melts).
- What part of speech is decausativize?
- Decausativize is a verb.
- What is the past tense of decausativize?
- The past tense of decausativize is decausativized.
Words near decausativize in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: decausativize (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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