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

Explanation

Do you like to make art? Do you like to write? Would you like to design clothes or buildings? Then you are a creative person. Creative has to do with new things coming into being: creative is the opposite of destructive. Art class and art schools are good places to be creative. All the artists in a place are known as the "creative community." But being creative isn't just about art — to make anything new or come up with any kind of an idea takes creativity and is therefore creative. Whenever you're making something worthwhile, you're being creative.

Example Sentences

When I first started the company 20 years ago, it was very much a creative journey.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

The French fashion house has unveiled an ode to the golden age of cinema in Los Angeles at its highly anticipated Cruise 2027 show, the first of its kind under creative director Jonathan Anderson.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

"Beyond that, the BBC is proud to play our role in supporting jobs, skills and training to help drive creative and economic growth right across the UK," he added.

From BBC • May 14, 2026

Isabel Allende, a novelist, always begins writing new books on Jan. 8 to force her brain into creative mode.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

I’m not as creative as you, but this is me going the extra mile.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Related Words

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