imaginative

adjective imag·i·na·tive \ i-ˈmaj-nə-tiv ; -ˈma-jə-ˌnā- , -nə- \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of imaginative

1 a : of, relating to, or characterized by imagination

b : devoid of truth : false

2 : given to imagining : having a lively imagination

3 : of or relating to images; especially : showing a command of imagery

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imaginatively

adverb

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imaginativeness

noun

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Examples of imaginative in a Sentence

She wrote an imaginative story about life on the planet Venus.
The restaurant's menu is quite imaginative.

Recent Examples of imaginative from the Web

Celebrated chefs from restaurants including Civico 1845, Casa Guadalajara, Waypoint Public and more will treat guests to imaginative dishes inspired by their favorite books and literary characters.

— lisa deaderick, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Helping others achieve greater literacy," 14 Apr. 2018
And like Anna’s choice in meals, this creature feature from the director Fritz Böhm is functional but lacks flavor, an imaginative spark that might distinguish it from any number of other I-was-a-teenage-monster movies.

— ben kenigsberg, New York Times, "Review: In ‘Wildling,’ Bel Powley Finds Her Inner Monster," 12 Apr. 2018
That creativity can be seen in the imaginative programming at the Avon Lake Public Library on Electric Boulevard.

— linda gandee/special to cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "Avon Lake Library rocks into summer with Jimmy Buffett slime buffet and other creative fun," 10 Apr. 2018
Barrie becomes friendly with a widow, Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, and becomes a playmate to her four imaginative sons.

— mary colurso, AL.com, "Broadway in Birmingham offers 'Beautiful,' 'Evita,' 'Finding Neverland,' more for 2018-2019 season," 9 Apr. 2018
The role of Giovanna, which seems to have enjoyed the lion’s share of Verdi’s imaginative investment, was taken up by Haeran Hong.

— jeremy eichler, BostonGlobe.com, "Odyssey wraps its Joan of Arc season with Verdi rarity," 8 Apr. 2018
So anyone wanting a deeper and more imaginative exploration of Africa’s history would be advised to avoid the cinema and open a book instead.

— The Economist, "Africa’s past is inspiring some of its most interesting fiction today," 5 Apr. 2018
Paris out-tourists the rest of the world in numbers year after year, making it the least imaginative yet most crowd-pleasing destination on the map.

— natalie b. compton, GQ, "The Best Way to Do Paris Is the Old Fashioned Way," 3 Apr. 2018
Each location will feature unique murals created by local artists and an imaginative community mural zone where everyone can get in on the fun.

— sonja haller, azcentral, "Free and fun April things to do for kids and families around Phoenix," 30 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of imaginative

Middle English ymaginatif "employing mental images, curious, inventive," borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French, "of the imagination, having a strong imagination, shrewd," borrowed from Medieval Latin imāginātīvus "of the imagination," from Latin imāginātus, past participle of imāginārī "to imagine" + -īvus -ive

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year