formative
[ fawr-muh-tiv ]
/ ˈfɔr mə tɪv /
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.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
Origin of formative
SYNONYMS FOR formative
Related forms
Can be confusedformative formidable
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for formative
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 Formsformatively, adverbformativeness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for formative
formative
late 15c., from Middle French formatif, from Latin format-, past participle stem of formare (see form (n.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper