noun a word formed in accordance with some rule or usage, as from a root.
2. formative ·adj capable of growth and development; germinal; as, living or formative matter.
3. formative ·adj serving to form; derivative; not radical; as, a termination merely formative.
4. formative ·adj giving form; having the power of giving form; plastic; as, the formative arts.
5. formative ·noun that which serves merely to give form, and is no part of the radical, as the prefix or the termination of a word.