What does transmissive mean?
Transmissive is an adjective describing something that can be passed on or that serves to pass something along. It may refer to light, heat, signals, information, biological material, or even influence: a transmissive medium carries a signal, while transmissive qualities allow something to reach another person or location. In medical and biological writing, the related word transmissible is often more familiar when discussing what can be transmitted between people or organisms. Transmissive is nonetheless useful when the emphasis is on the carrying capacity of a medium, process, or influence rather than simply the transferability of the item. The word is formal and specialized, so ordinary English usually prefers transmitted, passed on, spread, or contagious in everyday contexts. Its Latin ancestry makes its meaning especially vivid: trans- means “across,” and mittere means “to send,” so the core idea is sending or carrying something across a boundary.
adjectiveCapable of being transmitted or passed on from one person, place, or medium to another; serving to transmit something.
- Capable of being transmitted, passed on, or conveyed.
- Serving to transmit; functioning as a medium or channel through which something is carried.
"The glass was chosen for its transmissive properties, allowing sunlight to pass into the greenhouse."
"The glass was chosen for its transmissive properties, allowing sunlight to pass into the greenhouse."
"Her optimism was transmissive, lifting the mood of everyone she met."
Transmissive hides a tiny journey inside the word: Latin trans- means “across,” while mittere means “to send.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does transmissive come from?
The English adjective belongs to the Latin-derived family of transmittere, “to send across” or “to hand over,” formed from trans- (“across”) and mittere (“to send”). Related English forms such as transmit, transmission, and transmissible preserve this root, while transmissive was formed within that family with the productive suffix -ive.
Related word forms
How transmissive is actually used
A formal, technical adjective used especially in physics, biology, medicine, and discussions of communication or influence. It is less common in everyday English, where “transmitted,” “passed on,” or “spread” usually sound more natural.
Easily confused with transmissive
Transmissible usually focuses on something being passable from one person or organism to another, while transmissive more often characterizes the medium, process, or quality by which something is carried onward.