formative

[fawr-muh-tiv]

adjective

1. giving form or shape; forming; shaping; fashioning; molding.

   a formative process in manufacturing.

2. relating to formation or development.

   a child's most formative years.

   Synonyms: impressionable, receptive, susceptible

3. Biology.

   1. capable of developing new cells or tissue by cell division and differentiation.

      formative tissue.

   2. concerned with the formation of an embryo, organ, or the like.

4. Education.,  continuous and diagnostic, and covering specifically the current material with which the student is actively engaged; ongoing: formative evaluation;

   formative assessment;

   formative evaluation;

   formative feedback.

5. Grammar.,  relating to a formative, an affix that indicates the part of speech of a derived word.

noun

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

2. 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.

formative

/ ˈfɔːmətɪv /

adjective

1. of or relating to formation, development, or growth

   formative years

2. shaping; moulding

   a formative experience

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

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

noun

1. an inflectional or derivational affix

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

Other Word Forms

• formatively adverb
• formativeness noun
• nonformative adjective
• nonformatively adverb
• subformative adjective
• subformatively adverb
• subformativeness noun
• unformative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of formative¹

First recorded in 1480–90; from Old French formatif (masculine), formative (feminine); formation, -ive

Example Sentences

The executive spent his formative years running NBC’s cable distribution unit before jumping to Discovery in 2007 to become chief executive of the modest cable programming company then overseen by mogul John Malone.

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It was such a formative experience that Hudson still remains close with Crowe.

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She recalled how the Incorrigibles still preferred their meat cooked quite rare and doused with ketchup; perhaps the sandwiches had only been an occasional treat during their formative years.

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Stone thought back to her formative period at Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Elice’s words about not dismissing such a gift stayed with her.

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Looking back at these formative interests, he says he had no idea that music was going to be the thing that stuck.

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Related Words

• developmental www.thesaurus.com