innovative
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of innovative
Explanation
Something innovative is new and original. If you love to experiment and find new ways to do things, you are an innovative person. Innovative, like nova, novel, and novice, comes from the Latin novus, which means new. Something innovative renews or alters the way something has been done. You can use innovative to describe the thing or the person that made it. If your English teacher objects to your experimental writing style, tell him, "I'm an innovative writer making innovative sentences!" Antonyms are unoriginal and hackneyed.
Vocabulary lists containing innovative
Brand Spankin' New: Words with Neo- and Nov-
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "I"
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Mardi Gras: Fun
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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.
Willi Smith, the innovative and witty fashion designer who created his outsized and colorful styles for the man and woman in the street, has died in New York City at age 39.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026
Several states are leading the charge with innovative approaches to supporting CTE.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026
To investigate how human vision forms, Johnston and his colleagues turned to an innovative laboratory technique they have helped develop over the past several years.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
On the eve of the summit's close in Yerevan, UN biodiversity chief Astrid Schomaker said countries "must be bold and innovative to find common ground".
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Thus, it is untrue that there are continents whose societies have tended to be innovative and continents whose societies have tended to be conservative.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
