informative
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of informative
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English: “formative,” from Medieval Latin infōrmātīvus, from Latin infōrmāt(us) “given form to” (past participle of infōrmāre “to give form to, instruct, shape”; see inform 1) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
Use the adjective informative to describe something that gives you some kind of useful information, like an informative book about identifying the mushrooms you find growing wild in the woods near your house. When something is informative, it's usually educational and full of facts — like an informative text book or an informative tour of the Hindu temples of northern India. If you learn a lot from something, you can call it informative. The Latin root of informative is the word informare, which means "to shape, train, instruct, or educate." Something that does those things for you is informative.
Vocabulary lists containing informative
Shape Up: Form
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Keystone Exams: English Composition Glossary
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Speech and Debate
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They’re highly informative and a lot of fun.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026
"It is much more informative to put the robot out there and study what happens than staying forever in the lab."
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
Yet as the fields of neuroscience and AI progress, both are converging on the same lesson: when making judgement about whether something is consciousness, how it works is proving more informative than what it does.
From Science Daily • Jun. 5, 2026
Just trusted, entertaining and informative sport videos from the teams covering the biggest stories across BBC Sport.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
Unfortunately, even the most punctilious punctuation is not informative enough to eliminate all garden paths.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
