creativity
Americannoun
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the state or quality of being creative.
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the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination.
the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.
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the process by which one utilizes creative ability.
Extensive reading stimulated his creativity.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of creativity
Explanation
Creativity is the ability to transcend the ordinary. It's the critical thinking skill that allows you to "think outside the box" to come up with original solutions to problems. We often think of creativity as limited to the arts, but it is a necessary element in all areas of life. Without creativity we would not have the mathematical theories that presented us with fractals, or the technological imagination that could foresee people walking on the moon. It was creativity that harnessed lightning into electricity and later used that electricity to send messages through wires. Without creativity, we probably would never have invented the wheel or domesticated fire!
Vocabulary lists containing creativity
Joyous Kwanzaa! Vocabulary Worth Celebrating
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Psychology
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ity, -ty
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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.
It is one of the few moments each year when people from across Europe and beyond come together around music, creativity and shared experience.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
"It is a celebration of humanity because what you're seeing in this film is human creativity, human artistry, human effort on a grand scale," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
All the film’s creativity goes to corporeal gack.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Crediting the work he produced in his bands, they said "his imagination shaped the sound of Irish music" and his career was described as being built on "creativity, friendship and collaboration."
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
What does music have to do with creativity?
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
