formative
form·at·ive/ˈfoɹmətɪv/adjective, noun
formative is spelled F-O-R-M-A-T-I-V-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables (form·at·ive). It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, formative means “Capable of forming something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in formative?
| Letters | 9: F-O-R-M-A-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: form·at·ive |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 20,356th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 formative?
Formative appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th 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 formative?
- UK /ˈfɔːmətɪv/
- US /ˈfoɹmətɪv/
- US [-ɾɪv]
Formative has 3 syllables, split form·at·ive in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-formative.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with formative?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as formative from its last stressed vowel (/oɹmətɪv/):
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 formative
- more formative comparative
- most formative superlative
- formatives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does formative mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Capable of forming something.
- 2
Capable of producing new tissue.
- 3
Pertaining to the formation of words; specifically, of an affix: forming words through inflection.
- 4
Of or pertaining to the formation and subsequent growth of something.
My formative years were spent in an inner city.
- 5
Of a form of assessment: used to guide learning rather than to quantify educational outcomes.
noun
- 1
A thing which causes formation to occur.
- 2
A language unit, typically a morph, that has a morphological function (that is, forming a word from a root or another word).
- 3
Synonym of derivative (“a word that derives from another one”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Formative in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | formatif, formateur , formans, formant |
| German | bildend , Formativ, Formans |
| Spanish | formativo, formador , formante |
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 formative come from?
From Middle English formatyve, formatif (“having the ability to form”), from Old French formatif, formative (modern French formatif), from Medieval Latin formātīvus, from Latin fōrmātus + -īvus (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘doing’ or ‘related to doing’). Fōrmātus is the perfect passive participle of fōrmō (“to form, to shape”), from fōrma (“a form, shape”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ, “a form, shape”) (see further at that entry). By surface analysis, form + -ative.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).