What does costively mean?
"Costively" is the adverbial form of the rare English word "costive," which carries two related senses. In its original, literal use, it describes doing something in a constipated manner — with sluggish, difficult bowel function. By extension, it developed a figurative meaning that proved more durable in literature: acting slowly, reluctantly, or grudgingly, as though withholding effort, words, or generosity. A speaker might describe an institution as responding costively to reform, or a character as speaking costively, doling out answers one reluctant syllable at a time. The word derives from the same Latin root as "constipation" — constipare, "to press together" — having entered English via Old French "costif." Today "costively" is distinctly formal and somewhat archaic; it appears mostly in literary criticism, historical writing, or deliberately ornate prose rather than ordinary conversation, where plainer terms like "sluggishly" or "grudgingly" have taken its place.
adverbIn a costive manner: either with difficulty in passing stool (constipated), or slowly, reluctantly, and ungenerously in action or expression.
- (Of bodily function) in a constipated manner; with difficulty or infrequency in evacuating the bowels.
- Figuratively: in a slow, reluctant, or uncommunicative manner; grudgingly or sparingly.
"The committee moved costively, taking nearly a year to approve even minor proposals."
"After days of rich food and little exercise, he found himself moving costively through his morning routine."
"The old duke gave costively of both his opinions and his money, releasing each only after long resistance."
Before it described a sluggish committee, "costive" was the polite Victorian way to say someone was constipated.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of costively
"Costively" comes from the adjective "costive," which entered Middle English from Old French "costif," ultimately deriving from Latin "constipare," meaning "to press or crowd together." This makes it a direct sibling of "constipation" and "constipated," which preserve the fuller Latin form. The word has been part of English since at least the late medieval period, developing its figurative sense of slowness or reluctance alongside the original medical one.
Related word forms
How costively is actually used
Both the adjective "costive" and its adverb "costively" are now rare and formal; the literal medical sense has largely been replaced by "constipated(ly)" in everyday speech, and the figurative sense survives mainly in literary or deliberately archaic prose.
Easily confused with costively
"Costal" relates to the ribs, whereas "costively" derives from "costive," meaning constipated or slow and reluctant.