Connective means serving to connect or join things together. In writing, connective words like “however,” “therefore,” and “because” link ideas and sentences, showing how thoughts relate to each other. When you write “I studied hard; therefore I did well on the test,” that therefore is a connective showing cause and effect.

In anatomy, connective tissue is material in your body that holds organs and other structures in place, like the padding between your joints or the tough coverings around muscles and organs. Just as connective words join ideas, connective tissue joins body parts.

You might also hear the word used more generally to describe anything that links things together. A hallway is a connective space between rooms. A bridge is a connective structure between two pieces of land. The idea is always the same: something that connects separate things into a unified whole.

When you spot words like “although,” “meanwhile,” or “consequently,” you're seeing the author's roadmap for how ideas fit together.