privative adjective

privative adjective (plural privative adjectives)

1. (grammar) An adjective indicating that a noun refers to an object that is not of the class which that noun ordinarily refers to.

   That's fake news.

   (literally, “That is not news.”)

   Isn't that a toy sword?

   (literally, “That is not a genuine sword.”)

2. (grammar) An adjective indicating that a noun lacks some other noun, or a quality of that noun; usually formed in English by the affixation of the suffix -less or suffixoid -free to the noun that is absent.

   ‎finger + ‎-less → ‎fingerless

   ‎hope + ‎-less → ‎hopeless

   ‎heart + ‎-less → ‎heartless

   ‎sugar + ‎-free → ‎sugar-free

• possessional adjective (indicating possession of a noun or quality)