What does intransitive mean?
Intransitive describes a verb that does not require a direct object, the noun receiving the action of the verb. A sentence such as “the baby slept” is intransitive because “slept” can stand alone. The same verb may be transitive in another construction: “she sleeps” is intransitive, while “she sleeps a child” is transitive, although the latter example is less usual than forms such as “she sings a song.” Intransitive is especially important in grammar and linguistics, where it contrasts with transitive. It can also describe a particular use of a verb, as when a normally transitive verb appears without its direct object. The term does not mean that the action has no receiver or complement; it means only that the verb does not grammatically require a direct object.
adjectiveDenoting a verb or verb construction that does not take a direct object. In an intransitive use, the subject performs an action without transferring that action to another participant.
- Of or relating to a verb that does not take a direct object.
- Used or occurring without a direct object.
"The verb “sleep” is intransitive because it does not take a direct object."
"The children played outside until dark."
"In this sentence, “arrive” is used intransitively because it has no direct object."
A verb can change its nature: “she sings” is intransitive, but “she sings a song” is transitive.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does intransitive come from?
The word combines the Latin prefix in-, meaning “not” or “into,” with transitivus, “passing across,” which was used for verbs that carry their action across to a direct object. English borrowed the Latin term through French and established the contrasting pair transitive and intransitive. Related English words, including transit, transitory, transition, and translate, share the Latin root transire, “to cross over.”
Related word forms
How intransitive is actually used
The term is chiefly grammatical and is more common in formal writing, grammar instruction, and linguistic analysis than in everyday conversation.
Easily confused with intransitive
An intransitive verb does not take a direct object, whereas a transitive verb requires one to complete its meaning.