What does acquisitive mean?
Word: Acquisitive
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Acquisitive means keen to buy or get new things and to own more and more of them.
Synonyms: greedy
Antonyms: unselfish
How do you spell acquisitive?
Syllables: ac - quis - i - tive
Tricky part: The kw sound is spelt cqu, as in acquire, and the c is the letter that students drop.
Watch out for: aquisitive, akquisitive
Memory tip: An acquisitive person wants to acquire everything, so copy the cq from acquire.
Acquisitive in a sentence
Example 1: Our acquisitive neighbour has three cars but only one driveway.
Example 2: Clever advertisements try to make us more acquisitive.
Example 3: Magpies are often described as acquisitive birds that collect shiny objects.
Fun Fact
The economic historian R. H. Tawney used the word in the title of his book The Acquisitive Society, which questioned a world built around owning more.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word acquisitive as used in the sentence:
His acquisitive habits filled the garage with gadgets he never used.
a) playful
b) modest
c) careless
d) grasping
Show answer
d) grasping. A person who keeps grabbing more gadgets is grasping.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The vqiteuscaii collector bought every old stamp that came on the market.
a) repetitive
b) competitive
c) acquisitive
d) inquisitive
Show answer
c) acquisitive. A q among the letters rules out competitive and repetitive, and inquisitive would need an n.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
acquissitive
a) t
b) c
c) u
d) s
Show answer
d) s. Only one s comes after the ui.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. posessive 2. materalistic 3. ambitous 4. acquisitive
a) hungry for ever more belongings
b) caring more about money than about people
c) not wanting to share someone or something
d) determined to be successful
Show answer
a) hungry for ever more belongings. Possessive, materialistic and ambitious have each lost a letter, which leaves acquisitive.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which habit sounds most acquisitive?
a) walking in the park after dinner
b) lending your books to friends at school
c) giving old toys to a children's home
d) buying every new phone the day it comes out
Show answer
d) buying every new phone the day it comes out
2. Someone trying to be less acquisitive might ____.
a) buy only what they really need
b) visit the new mall each weekend
c) save every receipt from the shop
d) ask for gifts at every birthday
Show answer
a) buy only what they really need
