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

Sharing a picture of them on social media, she wrote: "A conversation with him left you reeling from irreverent & imaginative quip-lash."

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The 26-year-old jumped on the trend after being impressed by the imaginative way another content creator had used AI, by editing some of her original photos and adding AI dogs.

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Bok, a mystically inclined author as well as artist, combined hallucinatory forms with imaginative fidelity to the texts he illustrated.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In its early days, the program’s website stated that it had been founded “by Harvard University President Lawrence H. Summers following an imaginative proposal” by Epstein and an academic.

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The Postal Tyger uniforms were included, as were some other imaginative outfits.

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Related Words

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