US /ˈkɑntrɪbjəˌtɔri/ UK /kənˈtrɪbjʊtəri/
adj noun Freq #91402

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    helping to cause or bring about a result

    Bodily associations may be contributory factors in primitive emotion.

  2. 2
    adj

    involving payments made jointly toward a fund or benefit

    Employees joined a contributory pension scheme.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · helping to cause or bring... contributingcausalsupporting
2 adj · involving payments made... shared-costcontributing
Opposites
irrelevantnoncontributory
Word family
Derived forms contributorilynoncontributory

Etymology

From earlier contributary, ultimately from Latin contribuere ("to bring together, contribute"). The modern adjective describes something that supplies part of a cause, cost, or result.

Topics

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