generative

adjective

gen·​er·​a·​tive ˈje-nə-rə-tiv 

ˈjen-rə-tiv, 

ˈje-nə-ˌrā-tiv 

: having the power or function of generating, originating, producing, or reproducing

… Elizabeth Gilbert dives into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity.

—Camryn La Sala

… her gift is essentially organizational rather than generative.

—Martin Filler

: such as

a

biology : of or relating to the production of offspring

vegetative and generative plant growth

the generative organs of mammals

see also generative cell, generative nucleus

b

computing : using artificial intelligence algorithms to create complete units of content (such as text compositions, images, audio, or video) based on a broad corpus of material

The newest models also come with AI integration that allows them to summarize text with generative technology.

—Cody D. Campbell

see also generative AI

Examples of generative in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The most ambitious of these, Speculative Generations of Flora Zero, 2023, is a generative video work based on the data from the Bauhinia Genome Project. —Pauline J. Yao, Artforum, 2 May 2026

Several California departments have discontinued generative artificial intelligence projects previously touted by the Newsom administration to help make state government more efficient. —William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 1 May 2026

That matters when your attacker is a powerful generative-AI system that can rapidly scan millions of lines of code for weaknesses. —Evan Johnson, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026

The system builds on ShengShu’s earlier work in generative video through its Vidu platform, using large-scale video data to train robots to understand and interact with real-world environments. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing generative

• generative AI
• generative artificial intelligence
• generative cell
• generative grammar
• generative nucleus
• generative semantics

Rhymes for generative

• degenerative
• regenerative
• neurodegenerative

Medical Definition

generative

adjective

gen·​er·​a·​tive ˈjen-(ə-)rət-iv  -ə-ˌrāt- 

: having the power or function of propagating or reproducing

generative organs