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Synonyms

innovative

American  
[in-uh-vey-tiv] / ˈɪn əˌveɪ tɪv /
especially British, innovatory

adjective

  1. tending to innovate, or introduce something new or different; characterized by innovation.


innovative British  
/ ˈɪnəˌveɪtɪv /

adjective

  1. using or showing new methods, ideas, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of innovative

First recorded in 1600–10; innovate + -ive

Explanation

Something innovative is new and original. If you love to experiment and find new ways to do things, you are an innovative person. Innovative, like nova, novel, and novice, comes from the Latin novus, which means new. Something innovative renews or alters the way something has been done. You can use innovative to describe the thing or the person that made it. If your English teacher objects to your experimental writing style, tell him, "I'm an innovative writer making innovative sentences!" Antonyms are unoriginal and hackneyed.

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Vocabulary lists containing innovative

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Maryanna Saenko, co-founder of the Future Ventures fund, which backs innovative tech startups, discovered Arion when she was pregnant.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 4, 2026

Ultimately, Nvidia might be just another AT&T — a company with such an innovative product, it just can’t lose.

From MarketWatch Aug. 27, 2026

But they did have one potentially innovative and surprising, if disconcerting, solution to our national public health information crisis: A.I. has the potential to help stave off a conspiratorial catastrophe during the next pandemic.

From Slate Aug. 26, 2026

It also said it was investing £3.5m in "innovative youth homelessness projects" including Housing First for Youth, external to help vulnerable young people "avoid or move on from homelessness".

From BBC Aug. 23, 2026

Armed with harmony, rhythm, a large palette of chords, and most importandy the ability to write all of these down, its most innovative sounds expanded rapidly throughout Europe.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

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