Word
formative
Meanings
Having a strong influence on someone’s development, especially early in life or in a career.
Intended to help improve learning or performance through feedback during a process (especially in education).
Definition
Formative describes something that strongly influences how someone or something develops.
Formative means having an important effect on development, especially in the early stages of life, learning, or a process. It is often used to talk about experiences, years, events, or feedback that shape future abilities and attitudes. In education, it can also describe assessments used to improve learning while it is happening.
Examples
- Living abroad was a formative experience for her.
- He credits his coach with providing formative guidance.
- Those were the formative years of the company.
- The teacher uses formative assessment to adjust lessons quickly.
More adjectives
- agnostic Agnostic describes someone who believes it is not possible to know for sure whether a god exists.
- pragmatic Pragmatic means focused on practical results rather than theory or ideals.
- ubiquitous Present everywhere or in many places at the same time.
- cynical Cynical describes believing that people are mainly motivated by self-interest and not sincere.
- apathetic Apathetic means showing little or no interest, enthusiasm, or concern.