imaginative

[ih-maj-uh-nuh-tiv, -ney-tiv]

adjective

1. characterized by or bearing evidence of imagination.

   an imaginative tale.

   Synonyms: ingenious, clever, inventive, creative

2. of, relating to, or concerned with imagination.

3. given to imagining, as persons.

4. having exceptional powers of imagination.

5. lacking truth; fanciful.

imaginative

/ ɪˈmædʒɪnətɪv /

adjective

1. produced by or indicative of a vivid or creative imagination

   an imaginative story

2. having a vivid imagination

Other Word Forms

• imaginatively adverb
• imaginativeness noun
• overimaginative adjective
• overimaginatively adverb
• overimaginativeness noun
• unimaginative adjective
• unimaginatively adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of imaginative¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin imāginātīvus imaginary, imaginative, equivalent to Latin imāgināt ( us ) imagined ( imagination ) + -īvus -ive; replacing Middle English imaginatif < Middle French < Medieval Latin, as above

Example Sentences

Are the lyrics imaginative or are the details too specific to brush off as fiction?

From Los Angeles Times

Organised by the journal Annals of Improbable Research and co-sponsored by Harvard-Radcliffe groups, the 34-year-old Ig Nobel awards 10 prizes annually, aiming to ”make people laugh, then think… celebrate the unusual, honour the imaginative”.

From BBC

The attorney compared him to Walter Mitty, the character with the boring office job who escapes into elaborate imaginative worlds — a defense Sexton hated.

From Los Angeles Times

The New York Philharmonic produced beauty and excitement, but Lim went his own way that wasn’t quite imaginative enough to improve on Bartók.

From Los Angeles Times

For “The Cortège” approaches a difficult subject matter with an imaginative question: What if we explore grief not with isolation or solemness, but with wonder?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• artistic 
• extravagant 
• fanciful 
• fantastic 
• ingenious 
• offbeat 
• original 
• romantic 
• visionary 
• vivid 
• whimsical