What does appointive mean?
Appointive is an adjective used chiefly in legal, governmental, and administrative contexts to describe an office, position, or official that owes its place to appointment rather than election. When a mayor names a city planner, a president nominates a judge, or a board fills a directorship, the resulting role is appointive: it exists at the discretion of an appointing authority and typically ends when that authority withdraws confidence or the term expires. The word carries a formal, institutional tone and appears most often in statutes, constitutional commentary, personnel manuals, and journalism about public administration. It is almost always deployed in explicit contrast with 'elective,' since the distinction between appointed and elected office shapes questions of accountability, tenure, and independence. For readers of civic and legal writing, understanding 'appointive' clarifies how power is distributed within institutions and why some officials answer to voters while others answer only to those who chose them.
adjectiveRelating to, filled by, or subject to appointment rather than election; designating a position or official chosen by appointing authority.
- Describing an office, post, or position that is filled by appointment rather than election.
- Describing a person who holds such an appointed position.
"The governor filled the vacant judgeship with an appointive candidate rather than holding an election."
"Judges in the federal judiciary hold appointive offices, nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate."
"She left her elective seat on the council for an appointive post in the mayor's administration."
In American law, whether a public office is 'appointive' or 'elective' can determine everything from who controls it to how its holder can be removed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of appointive
Appointive derives from the verb 'appoint,' which entered English from Old French 'apointier' (to arrange, settle, or fix), ultimately rooted in Latin terms connected to fixing or determining a matter ('ad-' plus 'punctum/punctare,' relating to points or punctuating). As English developed a vocabulary of administrative and legal distinction between chosen and elected officials, 'appointive' emerged as the adjective describing appointment-based office. It shares this lineage with related words such as 'appointment' and 'appointee.'
How appointive is actually used
Formal and largely administrative or legal in register; most common in discussions of government, civil service, and institutional governance. Frequently contrasted explicitly with 'elective' in political and legal writing.
Easily confused with appointive
Elective refers to positions filled by vote or election, whereas appointive refers to positions filled by appointment by an authority.