Untransitive

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Referring to a type of verb that does not require a direct object to complete its meaning
2. describing actions or states that inherently do not transfer to an object
3. characterizing verbs that stand alone without needing to act upon something else

Etymology: "Untransitive" is a plain formation: the prefix "un-" joined to "transitive," the grammatical term for a verb that takes a direct object. "Transitive" comes from Latin "transitivus," from "transire," "to go across," since the action passes across from a subject to an object. Adding "un-," meaning "not," produces a label for verbs whose action stays with the subject and does not pass on to anything. The word is a negation coined within grammatical terminology rather than a long-established vernacular term, and it works as a direct opposite of "transitive." In practice, grammars more often use "intransitive" for the same idea, so "untransitive" is best understood as a less common synonym built the same way.