creative

[ kree-ey-tiv ]
See synonyms for creative on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. having the power to bring something new into being, as a creature, or to evolve something original from one’s own thought or imagination, as a work of art or invention:Research supports the claim that children are most creative in the early grades, before middle school.In the mythologies of the earliest human societies, the predominant ideas about which sex was more important in reproduction may have determined the sex assigned to the universal creative force.

  2. resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.; imaginative: creative writing.

  1. originative; productive (usually followed by of):Marx believed that labor alone was creative of value, not property ownership.

  2. Facetious. using or creating exaggerated or skewed data, information, etc.: creative bookkeeping.

noun
  1. the people who design and produce artwork, video, copy, etc., for a business, typically in service of advertising and other aspects of marketing: Creative really hit this one out of the park—we’ve doubled our conversion rate almost overnight.

  2. material made for advertising and other aspects of marketing, as a billboard, video ad, or web page design, or the activity of designing and producing it: In our latest campaign for a luxury services client, we used an AI platform to fine-tune creative based on user behavior.

  1. a person who is an artist, writer, designer, etc., typically one employed by a business to work in advertising or other aspects of marketing:You’ll have to hire at least one new senior-level creative to keep up with the client’s expansion plans.

Origin of creative

1
First recorded in 1670–80; create + -ive

Other words from creative

  • cre·a·tive·ly, adverb
  • cre·a·tive·ness, noun
  • an·ti·cre·a·tive, adjective
  • an·ti·cre·a·tive·ly, adverb
  • an·ti·cre·a·tive·ness, noun
  • non·cre·a·tive, adjective
  • non·cre·a·tive·ly, adverb
  • non·cre·a·tive·ness, noun
  • sub·cre·a·tive, adjective
  • sub·cre·a·tive·ly, adverb
  • sub·cre·a·tive·ness, noun
  • un·cre·a·tive, adjective
  • un·cre·a·tive·ly, adverb
  • un·cre·a·tive·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use creative in a sentence

  • God has delegated to man, a sort of subcreative power to perpetuate his own race.

    The Young Man's Guide | William A. Alcott

British Dictionary definitions for creative

creative

/ (kriːˈeɪtɪv) /


adjective
  1. having the ability to create

  2. characterized by originality of thought; having or showing imagination: a creative mind

  1. designed to or tending to stimulate the imagination: creative toys

  2. characterized by sophisticated bending of the rules or conventions: creative accounting

noun
  1. a creative person, esp one who devises advertising campaigns

Derived forms of creative

  • creatively, adverb
  • creativeness, noun
  • creativity, 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