creative

adjective

krē-ˈā-tiv How to pronounce creative (audio)
Definition of creativenext
1
as in innovative
having the skill and imagination to create new things Thomas Edison's status as perhaps America's greatest creative genius

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imaginative
showing a noteworthy use of the imagination and creativity especially in inventing always coming up with creative ways to use hamburger

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of creative Balaji’s long-term creative partnership with Netflix, announced last year, marked a push to develop projects across multiple formats. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026 Dean Fryer, the restaurant’s namesake, nursed a pint outside while chatting with creative director Nicholas Blechman. — Leigh Nordstrom, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026 Michael Phelan, who cofounded the Marfa Invitational in 2019, has been announced as SFI’s creative director and curator. — News Desk, Artforum, 9 Oct. 2026 Were you guarded lyrically before, and has your creative process changed in light of that? — Rob Ledonne, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for creative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for creative
  1. innovative
  2. imaginative
  3. inventive
  4. clever
  5. talented
Adjective
  • Her designs are crafted in France using leather farmed in France and tanned in Italy, and are constructed entirely without stitching, using an innovative system of folding, assembly and rivets.
    — Alex Wynne, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Sweden files more patents per person than almost every other European country, hosts four of the world’s top 130 universities, and is ranked by the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization as the second most innovative economy on earth.
    — Jan Larsson, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of innovative
Adjective
  • From this format emerges the tacit thesis that the Bicentennial cultural activities excelled at provoking critical, imaginative reflections on America’s past and future from artmakers and from ordinary citizens alike.
    — Anna Kornbluh, ARTnews.com, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Expanding on French drama series, Debeurme praised his colleagues and fellow artists presenting audacious, imaginative projects in La Rochelle.
    — Kevin Giraud, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of imaginative
Adjective
  • Each feels expansively lush without ever losing that genuinely old school rock and roll momentum, in large part due to the hypnotic drumming of Adam Shumski and inventive lead guitars of Dan Ryan.
    — Brendan Hay, SPIN, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Occasionally, VisionQuest does this in a clever way, as with an inventive late sequence that borrows from WandaVision‘s sitcom language.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of inventive
Adjective
  • By upgrading synthetic skin from a passive sensor into an energy harvester, the Fudan team offers a clever alternative to deadweight batteries.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Halloween is sneaking up frighteningly fast, which means the window for coming up with a genuinely clever costume is closing at an alarming rate.
    — Marci Robin, Allure, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of clever
Adjective
  • Bryan is an incredibly talented country singer known for writing songs that tell deep and often incredibly emotional stories.
    — David Hookstead OutKick, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Studios together meant making difficult decisions where the two companies overlapped, and unfortunately that affected talented people.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of talented

Browse Nearby Words

creations
creative
creativeness
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Cite this Entry

“Creative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/creative. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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