Formative
['fɔːmətɪv] or ['fɔrmətɪv]
Definition
(noun.) minimal language unit that has a syntactic (or morphological) function.
(adj.) forming or capable of forming or molding or fashioning; 'a formative influence'; 'a formative experience' .
(adj.) capable of forming new cells and tissues; 'a formative zone in developing bone' .
Inputed by Carmela--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Giving form; having the power of giving form; plastic; as, the formative arts.
(a.) Serving to form; derivative; not radical; as, a termination merely formative.
(a.) Capable of growth and development; germinal; as, living or formative matter.
(n.) That which serves merely to give form, and is no part of the radical, as the prefix or the termination of a word.
(n.) A word formed in accordance with some rule or usage, as from a root.
Typed by Katie
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Plastic.[2]. (Gram.) Derivative, not radical.
Inputed by Diego
Examples
- Sprague, who also gives a curious glimpse of the glorious uncertainties and vicissitudes of that formative period. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- That education is formative of mind is not questioned; it is the conception already propounded. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Each such group exercises a formative influence on the active dispositions of its members. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
Typed by Geoffrey