as in creative
having a role in deciding something's final form
his experiences as an exchange student played a constructive part in the course that his life would take
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Recent Examples of constructive
These goodfaith efforts with Canadian officials have not led to any constructive progress.
—
Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Far from the constructive ambiguity of the 1992 Consensus, Lai breathlessly argued that Taiwan and China are distinct, autonomous nations, drawing on historical, legal, and identity-based arguments linking the island’s heritage to Austronesian culture, rather than Chinese.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
Inaba had nothing positive to say — which seemed to be a trend for the night — but Johnson offered some constructive criticism.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2025
But my decades of studying free speech law have convinced me that suppressing political rhetoric, even through social norms rather than law, undermines the discussion, debate and constructive disagreement essential for a healthy democracy.
—Gregory P. Magarian, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for constructive
Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Far from the constructive ambiguity of the 1992 Consensus, Lai breathlessly argued that Taiwan and China are distinct, autonomous nations, drawing on historical, legal, and identity-based arguments linking the island’s heritage to Austronesian culture, rather than Chinese.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
Inaba had nothing positive to say — which seemed to be a trend for the night — but Johnson offered some constructive criticism.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2025
But my decades of studying free speech law have convinced me that suppressing political rhetoric, even through social norms rather than law, undermines the discussion, debate and constructive disagreement essential for a healthy democracy.
—Gregory P. Magarian, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for constructive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for constructive
Adjective
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And yet, Goldman is also quick to acknowledge that none of those strategic maneuvers would matter much if the show’s creative team hadn’t also figured out the formula for making a live show that appeals to 2025 audiences, particularly the hard-to-reach Gen-Z crowd.—
Josef Adalian,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
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Recent discoveries show the one-time Homo sapien competitors were creative enough to craft stone multitools and even collect small trinkets.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Better prospects for a more productive dialogue will be around how to deal with the consequences.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
30 Oct. 2025
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What's your favorite low-stakes treat after a productive day?—
Jessica Radloff,
Glamour,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Constructive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/constructive. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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