formative

adjective for·ma·tive \ ˈfȯr-mə-tiv \

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Examples: formative in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of formative

1 a : giving or capable of giving form : constructive

a formative influence

b : used in word formation or inflection

2 : capable of alteration by growth and development; also : producing new cells and tissues

3 : of, relating to, or characterized by formative effects or formation

formative years

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formatively

adverb

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Examples of formative in a Sentence

This experience had a formative influence on his art.
a teacher who was a formative influence on generations of students

Recent Examples of formative from the Web

And figures like Grace Hopper were formative in abstracting software from hardware — fomenting its emergence as a field in its own right.

— stephen phillips, San Francisco Chronicle, "New tech books: ‘Conspiracy,’ ‘Broad Band,’ ‘The Truth Machine’," 1 June 2018
That formative teenage climb gave rise to a career in rigging sets for the director David Attenborough, and to other reasons a person might climb 250 feet up a tree full of snakes.

— josephine livingstone, The New Republic, "Shaking the Tree," 30 May 2018
The blues singer and guitarist had formative musical experiences that exposed him to gospel, jazz, Caribbean music, and styles from around the world.

— john adamian, courant.com, "Taj Mahal To Play Infinity Hall Hartford," 26 May 2018
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures was a formative experience for many reasons, but chief among them was the everyday nature of their preferred time-traveling vessel.

— ars staff, Ars Technica, "The Millennium Falcon is OK, but these pop culture ships make Ars hearts race," 26 May 2018
And that remains one of the great formative experiences of my life.

— katie reilly, Time, "'Fight Our Tribal Mindset.' Read Justin Trudeau's Commencement Address to NYU Graduates," 16 May 2018
Vietnam marked the primary formative experience of their lives.

— garrett m. graff, WIRED, "The Untold Story of Robert Mueller's Time in Combat," 15 May 2018
At its core, the project is elevated by its unifying love of the genre, and the sense of wonder the key filmmakers bring to reminiscing about movies that had a formative impact and influence on them.

— brian lowry, CNN, "James Cameron brings star power to 'Story of Science Fiction'," 27 Apr. 2018
In this steep swath of the wild, one formative force of nature is water.

— azcentral, "Into the water," 15 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'formative.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Whatever gives shape to something else may be called formative: for example, the Grand Canyon is a product of the formative power of water, and the automobile was a huge formative influence on the design of America's cities. But it usually applies to some kind of shaping that isn't physical. An ambitious plan, for example, goes through a formative stage of development. The formative years of the U.S. included experimentation with various forms of government. And the most important formative experiences in our own lives tend to take place in the first 20 years or so.