Definition of formative

• a. - Giving form; having the power of giving form; plastic; as, the formative arts.
• a. - Serving to form; derivative; not radical; as, a termination merely formative.
• a. - Capable of growth and development; germinal; as, living or formative matter.
• n. - That which serves merely to give form, and is no part of the radical, as the prefix or the termination of a word.
• n. - A word formed in accordance with some rule or usage, as from a root.