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definitions

creative

[kree-ey-tiv]
See more synonyms for creative on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. having the quality or power of creating.
  2. resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.; imaginative: creative writing.
  3. originative; productive (usually followed by of).
  4. Facetious. using or creating exaggerated or skewed data, information, etc.: creative bookkeeping.

Origin of creative

First recorded in 1670–80; create + -ive
Related formscre·a·tive·ly, adverbcre·a·tive·ness, nounan·ti·cre·a·tive, adjectivean·ti·cre·a·tive·ly, adverban·ti·cre·a·tive·ness, nounnon·cre·a·tive, adjectivenon·cre·a·tive·ly, adverbnon·cre·a·tive·ness, nounsub·cre·a·tive, adjectivesub·cre·a·tive·ly, adverbsub·cre·a·tive·ness, nounun·cre·a·tive, adjectiveun·cre·a·tive·ly, adverbun·cre·a·tive·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for uncreative

antiseptic, arid, aseptic, bare, barren, bleak, dead, desert, desolate, dry, effete, empty, fallow, fruitless, futile, gaunt, hygienic, impotent, infertile, sanitary

Examples from the Web for uncreative

Historical Examples of uncreative

  • In his capacity as an atomic engine inspector, his work was most uncreative.

  • Only an unimaginative and uncreative mind can occupy itself as Smoot's does.

    Behind the Mirrors

    Clinton W. Gilbert

  • Now, genius-worship is the infallible sign of an uncreative age.

    Art

    Clive Bell

  • Politically the continent of Europe remained traditional and uncreative from the time of Charlemagne onward for a thousand years.

  • They manifold their being and their emotions because of a blind and uncreative yearning for the universal and infinity.

    Paul Verlaine

    Stefan Zweig

British Dictionary definitions for uncreative

creative

adjective
  1. having the ability to create
  2. characterized by originality of thought; having or showing imaginationa creative mind
  3. designed to or tending to stimulate the imaginationcreative toys
  4. characterized by sophisticated bending of the rules or conventionscreative accounting
noun
  1. a creative person, esp one who devises advertising campaigns
Derived Formscreatively, adverbcreativeness, nouncreativity, 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
Word Origin and History for uncreative

creative

adj.

1670s, "having the quality of creating," from create + -ive. Of literature, "imaginative," from 1816, first attested in Wordsworth. Creative writing is attested from 1907. Related: Creatively.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper