inventive
Americanadjective
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apt at inventing or thinking up new machines or devices, methods, solutions, etc., or at improvising from what is at hand; innovative or ingenious.
Luckily the bike mechanic is a most inventive person—you’ll be surprised at what he can do with a piece of wire and some scrap metal.
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apt at creating with the imagination.
The delightful and tirelessly inventive storyteller is back with an animated stop-motion adventure.
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being the product of imagination, resourcefulness, etc.; creative and original.
It’s an enthralling, inventive, and wholly unique exhibit from an artist without peer.
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relating to or used for inventing.
These recordings captured the musician at the height of her inventive power.
adjective
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skilled or quick at contriving; ingenious; resourceful
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characterized by inventive skill
an inventive programme of work
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of or relating to invention
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inventive
First recorded in 1400–50; invent + -ive; replacing late Middle English inventif, from Old French
Explanation
To be inventive is to be creative. Inventive people are good at using their imaginations. If you know that inventors create new things, then it makes sense that the word inventive applies to people and behavior that show creativity. Artists are inventive, especially if their work is different than other people's work. Little kids are very inventive: their imaginations have almost no limits. People who copy others aren't inventive, because they're not being original. When people are being inventive, new ideas are flowing.
Vocabulary lists containing inventive
The Ingenious Lexicon of Invention
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Positive Adjectives to Describe People
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The Lions of Little Rock
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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.
With “A Void,” Perec demonstrates the inventive power that emerges from what can seem like gratuitous, even perverse, limitations.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
Archaeologists working at an ancient site in central China have uncovered evidence that early humans may have become more inventive while living through a brutal ice age.
From Science Daily • May 9, 2026
It’s inventive, creative, imaginative without rules — the way artwork perhaps used to be in the middle ’80s.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026
The story itself is relatively easy to follow: a heroine travels through different realms in an effort to restore balance, all while audiences are treated to impressive choreography, elaborate costumes and inventive stage effects.
From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026
Liberated from censorship and the need to be inventive, they proceeded cautiously.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
