Arrestive

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having the capacity to cause a stop or interruption in action
2. Capable of inducing a halt or pause in an activity or process
3. Likely to bring about an interruption or suspension of movement or progress

Etymology: "Arrestive" is a plain formation: the verb "arrest" with the suffix "-ive," which turns a verb into an adjective meaning "tending to" or "capable of" doing the action. So an arrestive thing is one that tends to arrest, that is, to stop or hold back something in motion. "Arrest" itself came into English through Old French "arester," meaning to stop or halt, which traces back to Late Latin "arrestare." That Latin verb was built from "ad-" ("to") and "restare" ("to remain, stay behind"), so the core sense is "to stay put" or "to bring to a standstill." The suffix "-ive" came into English through French from Latin "-ivus," used to form adjectives from verb stems. The adjective is much rarer than its verb and noun relatives, and its use is mostly confined to technical or formal writing about things that stop a process, such as a control that halts a machine or an event that interrupts a sequence.

Synonyms: detaining, stopping, seizing, restrictive, confining

Antonyms: freeing, releasing, liberating, allowing, permitting