# formative

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈfɔːmətɪv/ · frequency rank #20,361

## Definitions
1. Capable of forming something.
2. Capable of forming something.
3. Capable of forming something.
4. Of or pertaining to the formation and subsequent growth of something.
5. Of a form of assessment: used to guide learning rather than to quantify educational outcomes.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **formation** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/formation-vs-formative)

## Common misspellings (13)
`fformative`, `fomrative`, `foramtive`, `formaitve`, `formatiev`, `formativve`, `formattive`, `formatvie`, `formmative`, `formtaive`, `forrmative`, `fromative`, `ofrmative`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/formative