innovative
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- innovatively adverb
- innovativeness noun
- uninnovative adjective
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.
“Gabrielle Amster has spent nearly two decades advancing innovative approaches in animal welfare, building strong teams, and improving lifesaving outcomes,” Bass said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
One of the most impressive things about “Point Blank” is that the up-and-coming Mr. Boorman made the film with an old-time crew largely unaccustomed to his innovative ways who nonetheless rose to the occasion.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
This approach is now common, but back then it was innovative.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
"LVMH maintained its powerful innovative momentum and showed good resilience in a geopolitical and economic environment that remained disrupted, amplified by the conflict in the Middle East," the company said in a statement.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
The result was a quite new type of intellectual culture: innovative, combative, competitive, but at the same time obsessed with accuracy.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
