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
Derived 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.
Inventive models for E.V. ride sharing are flourishing elsewhere, from rural, unincorporated communities outside Fresno to a new car-sharing program bringing E.V.s to affordable housing complexes in eight states.
From New York Times • Jun. 16, 2023
Inventive multiverse comedy-drama Everything Everywhere All at Once, starring Michelle Yeoh, follows with six.
From BBC • Jan. 9, 2023
"This includes terminating the work of a large portion of our Moscow team and our partnership with Inventive Retail Group."
From Reuters • Jul. 12, 2022
Zelensky and his friends found an escape in a variety-show and sketch-comedy competition called K.V.N., the full name of which, in Russian, means Club of Funny and Inventive People.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 25, 2019
Inventive genius has sought out, in the lower walks of life, those subjects of novel study and fresh description which could no longer be found in the higher.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, No. 359, September 1845 by Various
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.
