generative

[jen-er-uh-tiv, -uh-rey-tiv]

See more synonyms for generative on Thesaurus.com

adjective

capable of producing or creating.
pertaining to the production of offspring.
Linguistics.
1. of or relating to generative grammar.
2. using rules to generate surface forms from underlying, abstract forms.

Origin of generative

1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French generatif, Late Latin generātīvus. See generate, -ive

Related formsgen·er·a·tive·ly, adverbgen·er·a·tive·ness, nounin·ter·gen·er·a·tive, adjectivenon·gen·er·a·tive, adjectiveun·gen·er·a·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for generative

seminal, imaginative, unusual, inventive, unconventional, creative, innovative, profitable, beneficial, useful, effective, prolific, dynamic, valuable, constructive, gratifying, rewarding, fertile, advantageous, vigorous

Examples from the Web for generative

Contemporary Examples of generative

If a series is telling a story that matters to us, the loss of a main character can be jarring but generative.
Life After TV Death: How Shows Like ‘Game of Thrones’ Kill Your Favorite Characters
Phillip Maciak
April 15, 2014
I sensed that I found a symbol for generative grammar, and I worked on the [theory of] recursivity in my animation.
What Is Michel Gondry Doing With Noam Chomsky?
Jimmy So
November 20, 2013
So, geometry elaborates a lot on recursivity in generative grammar.
What Is Michel Gondry Doing With Noam Chomsky?
Jimmy So
November 20, 2013

Historical Examples of generative

Such, then, is the singular sensitiveness of the generative system.
On the Genesis of Species
St. George Mivart
There was no generative power in the pure activity of Thought.
Essays Towards a Theory of Knowledge
Alexander Philip
The fecund sap, their generative virtue, escapes and diminishes at every gleam.
The Sea
Jules Michelet
This is equally applicable when the generative organs or perinum are injured.
Sporting Dogs
Frank Townend Barton
Together they prefigured not only Wisdom and generative power, but evil as well.
The God-Idea of the Ancients
Eliza Burt Gamble

British Dictionary definitions for generative

generative

adjective

of or relating to the production of offspring, parts, etca generative cell
capable of producing or originating

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 generative

adj.

early 15c., from generate + -ive. Use in linguistics is attested by 1959. Related: Generativity.

generative in Medicine

generative

[jĕn′ər-ə-tĭv, -ə-rā′-]

adj.

Having the ability to originate, produce, or procreate.
Of or relating to the production of offspring.