indictive

Indictive is an adjective with limited and nonstandard usage in modern English. In standard usage, the adjective indicative means serving as a sign or evidence of something, and inductive relates to reasoning that moves from specific instances to general conclusions. Indictive is rarely attested and is often described as obsolete, dialectal, or a mistaken form in major dictionaries.

Etymology and background notes suggest that inductive and indicative are the established derivatives from indicate, with indicative tied to signs or evidence and inductive to inference. Indictive, when encountered, is typically considered a nonstandard variation or historical artifact rather than a distinct grammatical mood or category.

Usage and guidance: in formal writing, it is advisable to use indicative when you mean “serving to indicate” or “signaling,” and inductive when you mean “relating to reasoning from particulars to generalizations.” If you come across indicatives of this sense in older texts or dialectal writing, treat them as historical or stylistic curiosities, and prefer the standard terms in contemporary usage.

See also: indicative, inductive, indication, indicate, indicating. In linguistic descriptions, focus is usually placed on the indicative mood (in verbs) and inductive reasoning (in logic and philosophy); inductive and indicative are the standard terms, while indicatives of the sense described here are uncommon.