creative

[ kree-ey-tiv ]

/ kriˈeɪ tɪv /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR creative ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

having the quality or power of creating.

resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.; imaginative: creative writing.

originative; productive (usually followed by of).

Facetious. using or creating exaggerated or skewed data, information, etc.: creative bookkeeping.

Nearby words

creation, creation science, creationary, creationism, creationist, creative, creative commons, creative imagination, creative tension, creativity, creator

Origin of creative

First recorded in 1670–80; create + -ive

Related forms

cre·a·tive·ly, adverbcre·a·tive·ness, nounan·ti·cre·a·tive, adjectivean·ti·cre·a·tive·ly, adverb

an·ti·cre·a·tive·ness, nounnon·cre·a·tive, adjectivenon·cre·a·tive·ly, adverbnon·cre·a·tive·ness, nounsub·cre·a·tive, adjectivesub·cre·a·tive·ly, adverbsub·cre·a·tive·ness, nounun·cre·a·tive, adjectiveun·cre·a·tive·ly, adverbun·cre·a·tive·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for creative

It was his business acumen, his own unflagging zeal for the creative business solution, that had freed Sam to do this.
How Martin Luther King Jr. Influenced Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’|Peter Guralnick|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The creative team behind the new My Lai project is working out the details for set design.
The My Lai Massacre Inspires an Opera|Asawin Suebsaeng|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was creative thinking like this that helped it debut at number one on Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart.
OK Go Is Helping Redefine the Music Video For the Internet Age|Lauren Schwartzberg|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In this day and age, this “help” comes in a variety of forms, from creative writing courses to ghost writers.
Meet Zoella—The Newbie Author Whose Book Sales Topped J.K. Rowling|Lucy Scholes|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

They are creative, investing a lot, and are forward thinking.
ISIS Has a Message. Do We?|Jamie Dettmer|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For a creative or interpretative genius mere existence seems to be sufficient.
The Merry-Go-Round|Carl Van Vechten
And no one has done more to bring us that critical and creative freedom and enlargement of scope than Remy de Gourmont.
The Book of Masks|Remy de Gourmont
To such a length was this carried in India and Iran, that sacrifice finally came to be regarded as a cosmic force, a creative act.
Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by the Native Religions of Mexico and Peru|Albert Rville
But in work of any creative sort, the mood, the condition of mind, is the determining factor.
The Life Radiant|Lilian Whiting
We may even say that these fits of incapacity and blank despondency are part of the cost of all creative work.
Adventures in Criticism|Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

British Dictionary definitions for creative

creative

/ (kriːˈeɪtɪv) /

adjective

having the ability to create

characterized by originality of thought; having or showing imaginationa creative mind

designed to or tending to stimulate the imaginationcreative toys

characterized by sophisticated bending of the rules or conventionscreative accounting

noun

a creative person, esp one who devises advertising campaigns

Derived Formscreatively, adverbcreativeness, nouncreativity, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

creative

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of creative

Examples from the Web for creative

British Dictionary definitions for creative

creative

adjective

noun