creativity

American  

[kree-ay-tiv-i-tee, kree-uh-] / ˌkri eɪˈtɪv ɪ ti, ˌkri ə- /

noun

1. the state or quality of being creative.

2. 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.

3. the process by which one utilizes creative ability.

   Extensive reading stimulated his creativity.

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Other Word Forms

• anticreativity
  noun
• noncreativity
  noun
• uncreativity
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of creativity

First recorded in 1870–75; creative + -ity

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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!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

creativity

“The next Elvis won’t pick up a guitar. Suno’s ravenous race to the bottom aims to make human creativity obsolete,” it added.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026

Examining their mutually nourishing creativity and the ways they pursued their own distinct artistic paths, the exhibition also presents a restaging of the artists’ studio, relocated from their home in Sussex.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026

They believe that future advances in controlling electrons at the space-time limit may ultimately depend more on human creativity than on the constraints imposed by nature.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 7, 2026

Bompastor's side resorted to hopeful crosses and shots from range, while they lacked creativity against a resilient Everton side.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026

The only way he could maintain his own independence and creativity was by working very late at night, when he could have the run of a great laboratory almost to himself.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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