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Dictionary


ad•di•tive



Pronunciation: (ad'i-tiv), [key]
—n.
1. something that is added, as one substance to another, to alter or improve the general quality or to counteract undesirable properties: an additive that thins paint.
2. Nutrition.
a. Also called food additive. a substance added directly to food during processing, as for preservation, coloring, or stabilization.
b. something that becomes part of food or affects it as a result of packaging or processing, as debris or radiation.

—adj.
1. characterized or produced by addition; cumulative: an additive process.
2. Math.(of a function) having the property that the function of the union or sum of two quantities is equal to the sum of the functional values of each quantity; linear.

Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.

addition reactionadditive color
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