Synonyms of originality

originality

noun

ə-ˌri-jə-ˈna-lə-tē 

1

as in novelty

the quality or appeal of being new

the originality of the war memorial sparked a heated controversy, as most people had been expecting something more traditional

Synonyms & Similar Words

• novelty
• freshness
• newness
• innovation
• trendiness
• hipness
• progressiveness
• unusualness
• bizarreness
• strangeness
• unfamiliarity
• departure
• recentness
• currentness
• divergence
• up-to-dateness
• shoot
• offshoot

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• familiarity
• banality
• commonness
• staleness
• outdatedness

2

as in creativity

the skill and imagination to create new things

a poet of great originality, she brought a whole new range of subject matter and imagery to poetry

Synonyms & Similar Words

• creativity
• creativeness
• imagination
• innovativeness
• ingenuity
• talent
• inventiveness
• imaginativeness
• cleverness
• ingeniousness
• productivity
• invention
• resourcefulness
• productiveness
• fecundity
• fruitfulness
• capableness
• fertility
• prolificness
• prolificacy
• prolificity
• giftedness
• genius
• inspiration
• muse
• fire

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dryness
• dullness

3

as in imagination

the ability to form mental images of things that either are not physically present or have never been conceived or created by others

a graphic novel that shows a lot of originality on the part of its creator

Synonyms & Similar Words

• creativity
• imagination
• imaginativeness
• inventiveness
• fertility
• ideation
• invention
• fantasy
• resourcefulness
• ingenuity
• contrivance
• fancy
• inspiration
• fecundity
• versatility
• brainstorming
• dream
• brainstorm
• illusion
• pipe dream
• mirage
• delusion
• chimera
• daydream
• figment
• visualization
• hallucination
• phantasm
• mind's eye
• envisaging

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• literalness
• literality

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of originality

Shifting standards for originality Plagiarism can be defined as the appropriation of someone else’s words or ideas without acknowledgment or compensation. — Roger J. Kreuz, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026

Audiences rarely judge a presenter by the originality of the slides. — Chiara Alzati, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Let your originality help the group without scattering the agenda. — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 20 Aug. 2026

What the Zak Schulze Gang’s music thus far lacks in originality is made up for in sheer velocity. — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026