creativity
Americannoun
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the state or quality of being creative.
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the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination.
the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.
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the process by which one utilizes creative ability.
Extensive reading stimulated his creativity.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of creativity
Explanation
Creativity is the ability to transcend the ordinary. It's the critical thinking skill that allows you to "think outside the box" to come up with original solutions to problems. We often think of creativity as limited to the arts, but it is a necessary element in all areas of life. Without creativity we would not have the mathematical theories that presented us with fractals, or the technological imagination that could foresee people walking on the moon. It was creativity that harnessed lightning into electricity and later used that electricity to send messages through wires. Without creativity, we probably would never have invented the wheel or domesticated fire!
Vocabulary lists containing creativity
Joyous Kwanzaa! Vocabulary Worth Celebrating
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Psychology
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ity, -ty
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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.
Does it speak of an overflow of creativity — or of an inability to edit?
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
From art to business, constraints can unleash rather than stifle creativity.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
"It's a country full of creativity and wisdom and many Chinese young people would like to receive an education there."
From BBC • May 12, 2026
The board said that despite the break, the event "remains committed to celebrating African Caribbean culture, creativity and community" in Bristol.
From BBC • May 12, 2026
“I see. Well, Oliver, you get huge creativity points today.”
From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
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.
