1. (a.) Giving form; having the power of giving form; plastic; as, the formative arts.

2. (a.) Serving to form; derivative; not radical; as, a termination merely formative.

3. (a.) Capable of growth and development; germinal; as, living or formative matter.

4. (n.) That which serves merely to give form, and is no part of the radical, as the prefix or the termination of a word.

5. (n.) A word formed in accordance with some rule or usage, as from a root.

IC analysis abecedarian aboriginal accidence adaptable affix affixation allomorph antenatal autochthonous beginning behind the scenes bendable bending bound morpheme budding causal causative compliant component conjugation constituent constitutive constructive creative cutting decisive declension demiurgic derivation determinative difference of form ductile effectual elastic elemental elementary embryonic enclitic etiological extensible extensile fabricable facile fetal fictile flexible flexile flexuous formable formal formational foundational free form fundamental generative gestatory giving immediate constituent analysis impressible impressionable in embryo in its infancy in the bud inaugural inceptive inchoate inchoative incipient incunabular infant infantile infix infixation inflection initial initiative initiatory institutive integral integrant introductory inventive like putty limber lissome lithe lithesome malleable moldable morph morpheme morphemic analysis morphemics morphology morphophonemics morphotic nascent natal occasional original originative paradigm parturient pivotal plastic pliable pliant postnatal prefix prefixation pregnant prenatal primal primary prime primeval primitive primogenial proclitic procreative productive radical receptive responsive root rudimental rudimentary sensitive sequacious shapable springy stem submissive suffix suffixation supple susceptible theme tractable tractile ur whippy willowy word-formation yielding