| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. |
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
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3. Word Choice: New Uses, Common Confusion, and Constraints
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| § 11. adopted / adoptive |
| Children are adopted by parents, and we normally refer to an adopted child and to adoptive parents. By extension, adoptive can also refer to families and homes. When describing places, you can use either adopted or adoptive: She enjoys living in her adopted country. San Francisco is their adoptive city. | 1 |
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| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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