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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

2 entries under this word

Formative

Fōrm'a-tive, a.

adjective

a. [Fr. formatif, Pr. formatif, Sp. & It. formativo.]

Sense 1. Giving form; having the power of giving form; plastic; as, the formative arts.

The meanest plant can not be raised without seeds, by any formative power residing in the soil. Bentley.

Sense 2. (Gram.) Serving to form; derivative; not radical; as, a termination merely formative.

Fōrm'a-tīve, n.

noun

n. (Gram.) (a.) That which serves merely to give form, and is no part of the radical. (b.) A word formed in accordance with some rule or usage, as from a root.