formative

formative is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 3 senses. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.(Gram.) Serving to form; derivative; not radical; as, a termination merely formative.
  2. 2.(Biol.) Capable of growth and development; germinal; as, living or formative matter.
  3. 3.(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.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

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Definition-first questions whose answer is formative.

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