creative

American  

[kree-ey-tiv] / kriˈeɪ tɪv /

adjective

1. having the power to bring something new into being, as a creature, or to evolve something original from one’s own thought or imagination, as a work of art or invention: In the mythologies of the earliest human societies, the predominant ideas about which sex was more important in reproduction may have determined the sex assigned to the universal creative force.

   Research supports the claim that children are most creative in the early grades, before middle school.

   In the mythologies of the earliest human societies, the predominant ideas about which sex was more important in reproduction may have determined the sex assigned to the universal creative force.

2. resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.; imaginative.

   creative writing.

3. originative; productive (usually followed byof ).

   Marx believed that labor alone was creative of value, not property ownership.

4. Facetious. using or creating exaggerated or skewed data, information, etc..

   creative bookkeeping.

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noun

1. the people who design and produce artwork, video, copy, etc., for a business, typically in service of advertising and other aspects of marketing.

   Creative really hit this one out of the park—we’ve doubled our conversion rate almost overnight.

2. material made for advertising and other aspects of marketing, as a billboard, video ad, or web page design, or the activity of designing and producing it.

   In our latest campaign for a luxury services client, we used an AI platform to fine-tune creative based on user behavior.

3. a person who is an artist, writer, designer, etc., typically one employed by a business to work in advertising or other aspects of marketing.

   You’ll have to hire at least one new senior-level creative to keep up with the client’s expansion plans.

creative British  

/ kriːˈeɪtɪv /

adjective

1. having the ability to create

2. characterized by originality of thought; having or showing imagination

   a creative mind

3. designed to or tending to stimulate the imagination

   creative toys

4. characterized by sophisticated bending of the rules or conventions

   creative accounting

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noun

1. a creative person, esp one who devises advertising campaigns

Other Word Forms

• anticreative adjective
• anticreatively adverb
• anticreativeness noun
• creatively adverb
• creativeness noun
• creativity noun
• noncreative adjective
• noncreatively adverb
• noncreativeness noun
• subcreative adjective
• subcreatively adverb
• subcreativeness noun
• uncreative adjective
• uncreatively adverb
• uncreativeness noun

Etymology

Origin of creative

First recorded in 1670–80; create + -ive

Example Sentences

Broucke attempted versions with an 18 and 13-minute stagger, but the creative team found that in those increments the scenes didn’t flow as naturally.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Willis is a creative director at clothing brand Adidas.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

Purifoy’s fantastical assemblages made of found objects and unloved detritus provided the most fitting example of the creative desert mindset.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

The team is even collaborating with artists to explore creative uses for the material.

From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026

“I put down that you’re patriotic,” I told Imogene, “and brave and resourceful...and cunning and shrewd and creative, and enterprising and sharp and inventive...”

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson

Related Words

• gifted
• ingenious
• innovative
• inventive
• original
• productive
• prolific
• visionary