formative
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formative¹
- /ˈfɔːmətɪv/ UK
- /ˈfoɹmətɪv/ Canada, US
- [-ɾɪv] Canada, US
- /ˈfoːmətɪv/ Australia
- [-ɾɪv] Australia
- /ˈfoːmətəv/ New Zealand
- [-ɾəv] New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)mətɪv
Where it comes from
From Middle English formatyve, formatif (“having the ability to form”), from Old French formatif, formative (modern French formatif), from Medieval Latin formātīvus, from Latin fōrmātus + -īvus (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘doing’ or ‘related to doing’). Fōrmātus is the perfect passive participle of fōrmō (“to form, to shape”), from fōrma (“a form, shape”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ, “a form, shape”) (see further at that entry). By surface analysis, form + -ative.
adjective more formative · most formative
-
Capable of forming something.
[I]ts thought, that, in the Seed are alvvaies potentially ſeuerall indiuiduating Qualities deriu'd from diuers of the neere Anceſtors, vvhich by the formatiue povver of the Parents may be expreſt in the Children, vvith reſpectiue habitude to either Sex; […]
Similar: creant, poietic · Opposite: unformative
-
Capable of producing new tissue.
Similar: creant, poietic · Opposite: unformative
-
Pertaining to the formation of words; specifically, of an affix: forming words through inflection.
Similar: creant, poietic · Opposite: unformative
-
Of or pertaining to the formation and subsequent growth of something.
My formative years were spent in an inner city.
Opposite: unformative
- Of a form of assessment: used to guide learning rather than to quantify educational outcomes.
formative²
- /ˈfɔːmətɪv/ UK
- /ˈfoɹmətɪv/ Canada, US
- [-ɾɪv] Canada, US
- /ˈfoːmətɪv/ Australia
- [-ɾɪv] Australia
- /ˈfoːmətəv/ New Zealand
- [-ɾəv] New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)mətɪv
Where it comes from
Etymology 2 sense 1 (“thing which causes formation to occur”) is derived from the noun.
Etymology 2 sense 2.1 (“language unit”) is borrowed from German Formativ, a noun use of formativ (adjective), from Middle French formatif, from Old French formatif (see etymology 1).
noun formatives
- A thing which causes formation to occur. [T]his museum of the state of flux [Newmarket, Suffolk] has a climate unrivalled for the production of the British temperament. Not without a due proportion of that essential formative of character, east wind, it has at once the hottest sun, the coldest blizzards, the wettest rain, of any place of i
- A language unit, typically a morph, that has a morphological function (that is, forming a word from a root or another word).
-
Synonym of derivative (“a word that derives from another one”).
Similar: descendant, reflex, derivative
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: shaping, inchoative, immature, constructive, young, formation, summative, informative, instructive, formal, training, first, educational, reflex, diagnostic, diagnosis
Translations
Every language
adj pertaining to the formation of words
| Русский | словообразующий slovoobrazujuščij |
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Talk about this word "formative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/formative. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. formative. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/formative "formative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/formative.Cite this
@misc{formative_2026,
title = {formative},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/formative},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
