Noninterceptive

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterizing an action or process that does not impede or block the passage of something
2. indicating a lack of interference in a situation or system
3. referring to a type of observation that does not disrupt the subject being observed

Etymology: "Noninterceptive" is formed from three parts: the prefix "non-", meaning "not", the verb "intercept", and the adjectival suffix "-ive", meaning "tending to". "Intercept" comes from Latin "intercipere", "to seize between", built from "inter" ("between") and "capere" ("to take"), and it reached English in the 1500s with the sense of cutting off something on its way. Adding "-ive" gave the adjective "interceptive", and "non-" reversed it to describe something that does not seize, block, or divert whatever passes through it. The word is a modern technical formation rather than an old one. Its use is largely confined to fields such as electronics, physics, and military or communications contexts, where it describes a device, signal, or process that lets things pass without being caught or obstructed. Because it is built transparently from familiar parts, a reader can work out its meaning without a dictionary, and it has no older sense that has since changed.

Synonyms: nonintercepting, non-blocking, non-interfering

Antonyms: interceptive, intercepting, blocking, interfering