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

Remedies being sought by states attorneys are potentially transformative, said former Justice Department antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter. — Tobias Burns, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026

Personalized therapies have become transformative in niche areas while remaining too complex and costly to dominate the broader market. — Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Another case of grief being transformative, and another case of love as sacrifice. — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026

Her assertion of individuality, intelligence, and independent thought is drawing support at home and abroad, in ways that are both quiet and quietly transformative. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 17 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