innovative
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- innovatively adverb
- innovativeness noun
- uninnovative adjective
Etymology
Origin of innovative
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.
Vocabulary lists containing innovative
Brand Spankin' New: Words with Neo- and Nov-
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "I"
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Mardi Gras: Fun
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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.
“We’re always looking for innovative ways to blunt the impact of climate change.”
From Slate • Apr. 11, 2026
Finding innovative ways to treat cancer is Pfizer’s biggest priority so to boost cutting-edge technologies, Pfizer executives went to Shenyang, China.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
The publication noted that Bignell, a three-decade veteran of the company, had helped design some of Nike’s more innovative running sneakers, such as the Vomero Premium.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
On one end, there were innovative, high-end specialty coffee brands.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
The masks Picasso saw—expressive, sharply featured, wholly new—were in fact recent works of art, and they were brilliantly innovative.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
