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

This is not an argument that AI lacks transformative potential. —Robert Ginsburg, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026

This year’s fair shares the joy and transformative power of reading and writing with guests of all ages, while reminding them that literacy goes beyond classrooms and libraries. —Catharine Kaufman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026

Some of my favorite narrators, like Edoardo Ballerini and Saskia Maarleveld, bring transformative nuance and depth to a text. —Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 30 May 2026

No matter your age, embracing your natural hair as a Black woman can be an emotional and transformative experience—one that goes far beyond aesthetics. —Annie Blay-Tettey, Allure, 29 May 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