WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
de•ter•sive
(di tûr′siv),USA pronunciation adj.
n.
de•ter′sive•ly, adv.
de•ter′sive•ness, n.
- cleansing;
detergent.
n.
- a detersive agent or medicine.
- Latin dēters(us) (past participle of dētergēre; see deterge) + -if -ive
- Middle French détersif
- 1580–90
de•ter′sive•ness, n.
'detersive' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):