formative

[ fawr-muh-tiv ]

/ ˈfɔr mə tɪv /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR formative ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

giving form or shape; forming; shaping; fashioning; molding: a formative process in manufacturing.

pertaining to formation or development: a child's most formative years.

Biology.

capable of developing new cells or tissue by cell division and differentiation: formative tissue.
concerned with the formation of an embryo, organ, or the like.

Grammar. pertaining to a formative.

noun

Grammar. a derivational affix, particularly one that determines the part of speech of the derived word, as -ness, in loudness, hardness, etc.

Linguistics. (in generative grammar) any element, as a word, affix, or inflectional ending, functioning as a minimal syntactic unit that can be used in forming larger constructions.

Words nearby formative

formate, formatio, formation, formation dance, formation rules, formative, formative assessment, formative element, formboard, formby, forme

Origin of formative

From the Middle French word formatif, dating back to 1480–90. See formation, -ive

SYNONYMS FOR formative

2 receptive, impressionable, susceptible.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR formative ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM formative

form·a·tive·ly, adverbform·a·tive·ness, nounnon·form·a·tive, adjectivenon·form·a·tive·ly, adverb

sub·form·a·tive, adjectivesub·form·a·tive·ly, adverbsub·form·a·tive·ness, nounun·form·a·tive, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH formative

formative formidable

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for formative

You include a story about a poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, really affecting you in your formative years.
Richard Blanco’s Gay Latino Poet Survival Kit|William O’Connor|October 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All my formative years, I spent standing next to Jay [Z] or Justin [Timberlake] or all those kings.
How Pharrell Williams Finally Made It to the Top|Justin Jones|August 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For a generation of moviegoers, there are few filmmakers more influential during one's formative years than Rob Reiner.
Rob Reiner on the State of Romcoms, ‘The Princess Bride’s’ Alternate Ending, and the Red Viper|Marlow Stern|July 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Scopes Trial was a formative moment for modern creationism.
The Scopes Monkey Trial 2.0: It’s Not About the Stupid Science-Deniers|Michael Schulson|July 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The correlation is especially robust in the lower grades, when students are in their formative years.
How a 1973 Supreme Court Decision Has Contributed to Our Inequality|Geoffrey R. Stone|May 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"So important that a girl gets the right atmosphere during her formative years," said Sister Dickenson.
Plowing On Sunday|Sterling North
Evolution, like development, was due to a Bildungskraft or formative force.
Form and Function|E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell
When this stage was reached the formative age of feudalism may be considered at an end.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 3|Various
That education is formative of mind is not questioned; it is the conception already propounded.
Democracy and Education|John Dewey
The time seemed proper to restate the salient factors in the history of this formative period.
Union and Democracy|Allen Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for formative

formative

/ (ˈfɔːmətɪv) /

adjective

of or relating to formation, development, or growthformative years

shaping; mouldinga formative experience

(of tissues and cells in certain parts of an organism) capable of growth and differentiation

functioning in the formation of derived, inflected, or compound words

noun

an inflectional or derivational affix

(in generative grammar) any of the minimum units of a sentence that have syntactic function

Derived forms of formative

formatively, adverbformativeness, 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