defocusive

Defocusive is an adjective used to describe something that produces or relates to defocus, the loss of sharpness in an optical image or a deliberate shift of emphasis away from a focal element. The term combines defocus with the suffix -ive to indicate a characteristic or tendency.

In optics and photography, defocusive elements or processes cause the image to blur because the focal plane does not align with the subject. A lens or aperture setting that is defocusive may create uniform blur, ring-shaped out-of-focus highlights (bokeh), or other artifacts associated with defocusing. In digital imaging, defocusive rendering can be used artistically or can arise as a defect depending on exposure and focus calibration.

In linguistics or rhetoric, some discussions use defocusive to describe devices or constructions that reduce the salience of a particular element compared with others in a sentence, or to denote a deliberate broadening of focus rather than a narrow focal point. This use is less standardized and is typically described under focus or information-structure terms rather than as a formal category.

Etymology: derived from defocus and the agentive suffix -ive; the term is not widely standardized but has appeared in technical or critical discussions of optics and discourse.

See also: focus, defocus, blur, bokeh, focus-marking, information structure.