Meaning & use
respective
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a noun
Belonging to each of the people or things just mentioned, taken one by one.
Grammar: Goes before a plural noun after a possessive: their respective jobs.
Patterns
- their respective something
- the respective something
The twins went to their respective rooms.
The two companies protect their respective interests.
Both teams praised the respective strengths of their rivals.
Common combinations
- their respective roles
- The actors discussed their respective roles.
- respective countries
- Leaders returned to their respective countries.
- respective owners
- Names belong to their respective owners.
- respective fields
- Both are leaders in their respective fields.
- respective positions
- The players took their respective positions.
Synonyms and how they differ
- individual
- Individual stresses separateness but not the match with each earlier item.
- own
- Own is simpler and works with one or many, while respective needs a list or pair to refer to.
- separate
- Separate highlights difference but does not link each item to its owner.
- various
- Various means several different ones and does not match each to its owner.
Opposites
Word family
- respectively adverb
- in the order mentioned
- respect noun
- a detail or aspect
- irrespective adjective
- regardless
Commonly confused: respective or respectful? respective or respectable?
respective vs respectful
Respectful means showing respect; respective means belonging to each one separately.
respective vs respectable
Respectable means decent and socially acceptable, unrelated to matching items.
Practice
The two sisters went to their ______ universities in September.
Choose one answer.
Respective matches each sister with her own university. Respectful and respectable describe behavior or reputation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “respective”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.