creative

[kree-ey-tiv]

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adjective

having the quality or power of creating.

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

originative; productive (usually followed by of).

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. 2019

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.
The Odyssey of Sam Meecham
Charles E. Fritch
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.
A Short History of the World
H. G. Wells
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

having the ability to create

characterized by originality of thought; having or showing imaginationa creative mind

designed to or tending to stimulate the imaginationcreative toys

characterized by sophisticated bending of the rules or conventionscreative accounting

noun

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.