adj.
Pronunciation: ri- ' se-siv
Function: adjective
Date: circa 1673
1 a : tending to recede b : WITHDRAWN 2
2 a : producing little or no phenotypic effect when occurring in heterozygous condition with a contrasting allele < recessive genes> b : expressed only when the determining gene is in the homozygous condition < recessive traits> <a recessive disease>
– re · ces · sive · ly adverb
– re · ces · sive · ness noun