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creative

[ kree-ey-tiv ]
/ kriˈeɪ tɪv /
|

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.

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Nearby words

  1. creation,
  2. creation science,
  3. creationary,
  4. creationism,
  5. creationist,
  6. creative commons,
  7. creative imagination,
  8. creative tension,
  9. creativity,
  10. creator

Origin of creative

First recorded in 1670–80; create + -ive
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for creatively

British Dictionary definitions for creatively

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
Word Origin and History for creatively

creative

adj.

1670s, "having the quality of creating," from create + -ive. Of literature, "imaginative," from 1816, first attested in Wordsworth. Creative writing is attested from 1907. Related: Creatively.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper