inventive
Americanadjective
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apt at inventing or thinking up new machines or devices, methods, solutions, etc., or at improvising from what is at hand; innovative or ingenious.
Luckily the bike mechanic is a most inventive person—you’ll be surprised at what he can do with a piece of wire and some scrap metal.
-
apt at creating with the imagination.
The delightful and tirelessly inventive storyteller is back with an animated stop-motion adventure.
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being the product of imagination, resourcefulness, etc.; creative and original.
It’s an enthralling, inventive, and wholly unique exhibit from an artist without peer.
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relating to or used for inventing.
These recordings captured the musician at the height of her inventive power.
adjective
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skilled or quick at contriving; ingenious; resourceful
-
characterized by inventive skill
an inventive programme of work
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of or relating to invention
Other Word Forms
- inventively adverb
- inventiveness noun
- preinventive adjective
- uninventive adjective
- uninventively adverb
Etymology
Origin of inventive
First recorded in 1400–50; invent + -ive; replacing late Middle English inventif, from Old French
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.
Endlessly inventive and musically restless, their songs are given focus by Winter's sharp unfiltered lyrics, cutting through superficial relationships, state propaganda, and social divisions.
From BBC
Ms. Ruhl, in addition to being one of the most inventive dramatists working today, also wrote a beautiful memoir, “Smile,” about her struggles with Bell’s palsy, a neurological disorder that affects the face muscles.
Salman Rushdie’s new story collection, ‘The Eleventh Hour,’ explores mortality through five inventive stories blending realism and magic.
From Los Angeles Times
This inventive and highly enjoyable debut novel spans that single, eventful evening.
From BBC
His eyebrow-raising biography is dissected by way of inventive vignettes that blend performance and wildly interactive sets.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
