Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
formative - 5 dictionary results

form⋅a⋅tive

  [fawr-muh-tiv]
Use formative in a Sentence
–adjective
1. giving form or shape; forming; shaping; fashioning; molding: a formative process in manufacturing.
2. pertaining to formation or development: a child's most formative years.
3. Biology.
a. capable of developing new cells or tissue by cell division and differentiation: formative tissue.
b. concerned with the formation of an embryo, organ, or the like.
4. Grammar. pertaining to a formative.
–noun
5. Grammar. a derivational affix, particularly one that determines the part of speech of the derived word, as -ness, in loudness, hardness, etc.
6. Linguistics. (in generative grammar) any element, as a word, affix, or inflectional ending, functioning as a minimal syntactic unit that can be used in forming larger constructions.
Origin:
1480–90; < MF formatif. See formation, -ive

Related forms:
form⋅a⋅tive⋅ly, adverb
form⋅a⋅tive⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
2. receptive, impressionable, susceptible.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To formative
for·ma·tive   (fôr'mə-tĭv)   
adj.  
  1. Forming or capable of forming.
    1. Susceptible to transformation by growth and development.
    2. Biology Capable of producing new cells or tissue.
  3. Of or relating to formation, growth, or development: the formative stages of a plot.
  4. Linguistics Relating to the formation or inflection of words.
n.   Grammar
A derivational or inflectional affix.
for'ma·tive·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Formative

Form"a*tive\, a. [Cf. F. formatif.]

1. Giving form; having the power of giving form; plastic; as, the formative arts.

The meanest plant can not be raised without seed, by any formative residing in the soil. --Bentley.

2. (Gram.) Serving to form; derivative; not radical; as, a termination merely formative.

3. (Biol.) Capable of growth and development; germinal; as, living or formative matter.

Formative

Form"a*tive\, n. (Gram.) (a) That which serves merely to give form, and is no part of the radical, as the prefix or the termination of a word. (b) A word formed in accordance with some rule or usage, as from a root.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

Main Entry: for·ma·tive
Pronunciation: 'for-m&t-iv
Function: adjective
: capable of alteration by growth and development; also : producing new cells and tissues
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see formative on Thesaurus | Reference