Respective

Respective is an adjective meaning belonging or relating separately to each of two or more people or things. It is used to indicate that elements in a list correspond to different items in the same order. For example, "The researchers and clinicians presented their respective findings" means that the researchers presented their findings and the clinicians presented theirs.

The adjective respective typically precedes a noun or noun phrase, such as "their respective homes," "their respective duties," or "the two teams and their respective coaches." It is used to attach a specific item to its corresponding counterpart in a set. Note that respective modifies nouns, not adverbs; it cannot replace the adverb respectively in most sentences.

Respectively contrasts with respectively as an adverb. The adverb respectively expresses the correspondence in order: “A and B won prizes X and Y, respectively.” In practice, respective is used to label the items that belong to each member of a pair or group, while respectively clarifies the mapping when reading a sentence aloud or in lists.

Common usage notes include ensuring clarity when multiple items are listed and avoiding overuse. It is most natural when the relationship between each item and its counterpart is explicit, and when the list’s order matches the order of the nouns that follow.

Etymology: Respective comes from Latin respectivus, from respectus “regard, reference,” from respicere “to look back at, regard.”

See also: respectively.