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
S. L. PriceIt 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
Doug IrelandExamples of transformative in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For more than 50 years, Tomkins completed dispatches from the transformative art scene of the 1960s and beyond, whether individuals such as Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg or such movements as pop art, conceptual art and minimalism.
—ABC News, 20 Mar. 2026
Echoing that sense of transition, award-winning filmmaker and AI creative director Uli Gaulke framed the shift as both inevitable and transformative.
—Lin Ying-Hsuan, Variety, 19 Mar. 2026
Written by Amanda Kate Shuman (The Wheel of Time) and to be directed by Oliver Hermanus (The History of Sound), Enigma Variations stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Paul, a man remade by the lovers who ignite and undo him across ten transformative years.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2026
Like the midwives’ spells Pliny the Elder described, this ritual harnessed the belief that women’s bodies and voices were powerful and transformative.
—Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for transformative
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
ABC News, 20 Mar. 2026
Echoing that sense of transition, award-winning filmmaker and AI creative director Uli Gaulke framed the shift as both inevitable and transformative.
—Lin Ying-Hsuan, Variety, 19 Mar. 2026
Written by Amanda Kate Shuman (The Wheel of Time) and to be directed by Oliver Hermanus (The History of Sound), Enigma Variations stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Paul, a man remade by the lovers who ignite and undo him across ten transformative years.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2026
Like the midwives’ spells Pliny the Elder described, this ritual harnessed the belief that women’s bodies and voices were powerful and transformative.
—Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for transformative
Cite this Entry
“Transformative.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transformative. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
