creative
/kɹiˈeɪtɪv/adjective, noun
creative is spelled C-R-E-A-T-I-V-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 40 times per million words in written English, the 2,487th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, creative means “Tending to create things, or having the ability to create; often, excellently, in a novel fashion, or any or all of these” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in creative?
| Letters | 8: C-R-E-A-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 40 times per million words; the 2,487th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is creative?
Creative appears 40 times per million words in written English, the 2,487th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce creative?
- /kɹiˈeɪtɪv/
- /kəˈɹeɪtɪv/
Creative has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-creative.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with creative?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as creative.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: reactive.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of creative
- more creative comparative
- most creative superlative
- creatives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does creative mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Tending to create things, or having the ability to create; often, excellently, in a novel fashion, or any or all of these.
a creative dramatist who avoids cliche
- 2
Original, expressive and imaginative.
a creative new solution to an old problem
- 3
A type of set of natural numbers, related to mathematical logic.
a creative set
- 4
Designed or executed to deceive or mislead.
creative accounting and bookkeeping
- 5
bad, unartistic, busy.
noun
- 1
A person directly involved in a creative process; a creator of creative content.
He is a visionary creative.
- 2
Artistic material used in advertising, e.g. photographs, drawings, or video.
The design team has completed the creative for next month's multi-part ad campaign.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Creative in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | créatif , créative |
| German | kreativ, schöpferisch , originell |
| Portuguese | criativo, criador , criativa |
| Spanish | creativo , creativa |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does creative come from?
Borrowed from Late Latin creativus, from Latin creō. Equivalent to create + -ive. Displaced native Old English orþanclīċ.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).