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

Even with those limitations, archaeologists think the technique could prove transformative. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 11 Aug. 2026

That will, in turn, encourage exchanges to make cross-border investing easier and create something that, as enthusiastic bankers say, will be truly transformative. — Yinka Adegoke, semafor.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Doulas sought to empower women by educating them about childbirth, and by providing physical and emotional support before, during, and after that transformative event. — Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

The ramifications for American democracy are uncertain, but potentially transformative. — Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor, 10 Aug. 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