transformative

adjective

trans·​for·​ma·​tive tran(t)s-ˈfȯr-mə-tiv 

: causing or able to cause an important and lasting change in someone or something

a transformative experience

And she'll tell anyone who asks about her transformative weeks working for UNICEF in Congo and Cambodia.

—S. L. Price

It is increasingly hard to escape the conclusion that American politics has entered one of those rare transformative moments that shape the content of our public discourse and the direction of our governance for generations.

—Doug Ireland

Examples of transformative in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On the other hand, there’s a risk that Anthropic’s efforts could prove too restrictive, limiting transformative game projects that build off existing work. — Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 2 Nov. 2026

Under Biden, mainstream Democrats experimented with more transformative policy goals without the political populism—leftist economics by wonks. — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026

His presence was transformative; Stewart made the goofiest, most easily disregarded TV franchise for nerds and nobodies into a work full of warmth and gravitas. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026

Wall Street is getting more cautious, attempting to sort out which companies are spending rationally, how those outlays are impacting other parts of their business, and who will actually benefit from AI’s transformative impact on society. — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1668, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for transformative

• germinative
• argive
• forgive
• ogive
• outlive
• relive
• corroborative
• determinative
• give
• sieve
• resistive