inventive

[ in-ven-tiv ]

/ ɪnˈvɛn tɪv /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR inventive ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

apt at inventing, devising, or contriving.

apt at creating with the imagination.

having the function of inventing.

pertaining to, involving, or showing invention.

Words nearby inventive

inveigle, invenit, invent, invent the wheel, invention, inventive, inventor, inventory, inver grove heights, inveracity, inveraray

Origin of inventive

1400–50; invent + -ive; replacing late Middle English inventif < Middle French

OTHER WORDS FROM inventive

in·ven·tive·ly, adverbin·ven·tive·ness, nounpre·in·ven·tive, adjectiveun·in·ven·tive, adjective

un·in·ven·tive·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for inventiveness

My father excelled in business above all by imagination and inventiveness.
My Eulogy for My Father, Murray Frum|David Frum|May 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes Chinese inventiveness is just process innovation or casual repurposing of existing technologies.
China’s Next Big Export: Creativity and Culture|Ken Miller|November 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Her brashness, inventiveness, and inexhaustible energy carried her the rest of the way.
Elsa Maxwell, the Kingmaker|Mark Braude|November 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The variety and inventiveness of English is arranged on the pages not as dry text but as a living tapestry of language.
Wunnerfitz! Sollybuster! The Fun of the Dictionary of American Regional English|Ammon Shea|April 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Our inventiveness and drive have made America “not just a place on a map, but a light to the world.”
Obama's Speech From the Future|Jeremy McCarter|January 26, 2011|DAILY BEAST
In one of his most important later battles, Alexander again utilized his inventiveness.
Invention|Bradley A. Fiske
In him assuredly there was no attempt at inventiveness; he has always repudiated the idea that the poet should seek to innovate.
Personality in Literature|Rolfe Arnold Scott-James
No artist has shown more versatility and inventiveness in choice of subject, and greater impatience with accepted methods.
Art in America|Samuel Greene Wheeler (S.G.W.) Benjamin
With a certain skill and inventiveness, Boiardo had mingled together the epic cycles of Arthur and Charlemagne.
Library Of The World's Best Literature, Ancient And Modern, Vol. 2|Charles Dudley Warner
Their taste and inventiveness in this branch are unrivalled even by the best French modistes.
Punchinello Vol. II., No. 30, October 22, 1870|Various

British Dictionary definitions for inventiveness

inventive

/ (ɪnˈvɛntɪv) /

adjective

skilled or quick at contriving; ingenious; resourceful

characterized by inventive skillan inventive programme of work

of or relating to invention

Derived forms of inventive

inventively, adverbinventiveness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

inventive

adjective

Words related to inventive

Words nearby inventive

Origin of inventive

OTHER WORDS FROM inventive

Examples from the Web for inventiveness

British Dictionary definitions for inventiveness

adjective

Derived forms of inventive