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¹creative

adjective cre·a·tive \krē-ˈā-tiv, ˈkrē-ˌ\

: having or showing an ability to make new things or think of new ideas

: using the ability to make or think of new things : involving the process by which new ideas, stories, etc., are created

: done in an unusual and often dishonest way

Full Definition of CREATIVE

: marked by the ability or power to create : given to creating <the creative impulse>

: having the quality of something created rather than imitated : imaginative <the creative arts>

: managed so as to get around legal or conventional limits <creative financing>; also : deceptively arranged so as to conceal or defraud <creative accounting>

— cre·a·tive·ly adverb

— cre·a·tive·ness noun

See creative defined for English-language learners

See creative defined for kids

First Known Use of CREATIVE

1678

Related to CREATIVE

Synonyms: clever, imaginative, ingenious, innovational, innovative, innovatory, inventive, original, originative, Promethean

Antonyms: uncreative, unimaginative, uninventive, unoriginal

Rhymes with CREATIVE

ablative, constative, dilative, mutative, placative, translative

²creative

noun

Definition of CREATIVE

: one who is creative; especially : one involved in the creation of advertisements

: creative activity or the material produced by it especially in advertising

First Known Use of CREATIVE

1962

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

Rhymes with CREATIVE

ablative, constative

CREATIVE Defined for Kids

creative

adjective cre·a·tive \krē-ˈā-tiv\

Definition of CREATIVE for Kids

: able to invent or produce new and original things

— cre·a·tive·ly adverb

— cre·a·tive·ness noun

Word Root of CREATIVE

The Latin word creāre, meaning “to produce” or “to cause,” gives us the root cre. Words from the Latin creāre have something to do with producing or causing. To create something is to produce it. Anyone creative is able to produce new and original things. A creature is a being that was alive when it was produced