as in creative
having a role in deciding something's final form
a teacher who was a formative influence on generations of students
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Recent Examples of formative
When Rick Alden founded Skullcandy, the headphones and earbuds brand, Paul managed the company’s production operations in China during its formative years, according to the release.
—
Angela Palermo
april 16, Idaho Statesman, 16 Apr. 2026
What’s the point of building formative assessments into a course if they’re just handed off to an LLM?
—ArsTechnica, 13 Apr. 2026
My losses only grew over my formative years, like a black hole whose gravity had harnessed me.
—Literary Hub, 13 Apr. 2026
Weeks, who was raised in Louisville but spent periods of his childhood in Shreveport, New Orleans, Houston, and all spots in between, draws upon the influence of those formative years to shape his cooking and even several menu items.
—Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for formative
Angela Palermo
april 16, Idaho Statesman, 16 Apr. 2026
What’s the point of building formative assessments into a course if they’re just handed off to an LLM?
—ArsTechnica, 13 Apr. 2026
My losses only grew over my formative years, like a black hole whose gravity had harnessed me.
—Literary Hub, 13 Apr. 2026
Weeks, who was raised in Louisville but spent periods of his childhood in Shreveport, New Orleans, Houston, and all spots in between, draws upon the influence of those formative years to shape his cooking and even several menu items.
—Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for formative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for formative
Adjective
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Maybe the stage in which lucid dreams occur doesn’t involve as many creative leaps.—
Shayla Love,
New Yorker,
1 May 2026
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This year, new creative partner Climate Spring will offer yet another dedicated meeting for each fellow with a Climate Spring development executive to provide development advice and consultation on their script.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Wall Street bankers have been known to lean on Adderall and other stimulants to be more productive, while Silicon Valley executives microdose on ketamine or use psychedelics to be more creative.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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Fagnano and Pavia were two of the most productive quarterbacks in the country last season, with the 25-year-old Fagnano racking up the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in the country (28 to 1) and being named a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top QB.—
Staff Reports,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Recent announcements and enforcement patterns suggest US regulators are aware of the challenges and are working hard on constructive answers.—
Bob Diamond,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
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This commitment to social responsibility, however, has also underpinned several related forms of journalism that have similar values, such as civic or public journalism, peace journalism, advocacy journalism, constructive journalism, and more.—
Karen McIntyre,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Formative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/formative. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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