Hypertext Webster Gateway: "formative"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Formative \Form"a*tive\, n. (Gram.)
(a) That which serves merely to give form, and is no part
of the radical, as the prefix or the termination of a
word.
(b) A word formed in accordance with some rule or usage,
as from a root.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Formative \Form"a*tive\, a. [Cf. F. formatif.]
1. Giving form; having the power of giving form; plastic; as,
the formative arts.
The meanest plant can not be raised without seed, by
any formative residing in the soil. --Bentley.
2. (Gram.) Serving to form; derivative; not radical; as, a
termination merely formative.
3. (Biol.) Capable of growth and development; germinal; as,
living or formative matter.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
formative
adj 1: relating to or characterized by formative effects or
formation; "the formative arts"
2: susceptible to alteration by development and experience;
"formative years"
3: beginning to develop; "inchoative stages" [syn: {inchoative}]
4: (biology) capable of forming new cells and tissues; "a
formative zone in developing bone"
5: forming or capable of forming or molding; "a formative
influence"; "a formative experience" [syn: {shaping}]
n : minimal language unit that has a syntactic (or
morphological) function
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