What does imaginative mean?

Definitions for imaginative
ɪˈmædʒ ə nə tɪv, -ˌneɪ tɪvimag·i·na·tive

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word imaginative.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. imaginative, inventiveadjective

    (used of persons or artifacts) marked by independence and creativity in thought or action

    "an imaginative use of material"; "the invention of the knitting frame by another ingenious English clergyman"- Lewis Mumford; "an ingenious device"; "had an inventive turn of mind"; "inventive ceramics"

Wiktionary

  1. imaginativeadjective

    having a lively or creative imagination

  2. imaginativeadjective

    tending to be fanciful or inventive

  3. imaginativeadjective

    false or imagined

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Imaginativeadjective

    Fantastick; full of imagination.

    Etymology: imaginatif, Fr. from imagine.

    Witches are imaginative, and believe oft times they do that which they do not. Francis Bacon, Natural History.

    Lay fetters and restraints upon the imaginative and fantastick part, because our fancy is usually pleased with the entertainment of shadows and gauds. Jeremy Taylor, Rule of living holy.

Wikipedia

  1. imaginative

    Imagination is the production or simulation of novel objects, sensations, and ideas in the mind without any immediate input of the senses. Stefan Szczelkun characterises it as the forming of experiences in one's mind, which can be re-creations of past experiences, such as vivid memories with imagined changes, or completely invented and possibly fantastic scenes. Imagination helps make knowledge applicable in solving problems and is fundamental to integrating experience and the learning process. As an approach to build theory, it is called "disciplined imagination". A basic training for imagination is listening to storytelling (narrative), in which the exactness of the chosen words is the fundamental factor to "evoke worlds".One view of imagination links it with cognition, seeing imagination as a cognitive process used in mental functioning. It is increasingly used - in the form of visual imagery - by clinicians in psychological treatment. Imaginative thought may - speculatively - become associated with rational thought on the assumption that both activities may involve cognitive processes that may "underpin thinking about possibilities". The cognate term, "mental imagery" may be used in psychology for denoting the process of reviving in the mind recollections of objects formerly given in sense perception. Since this use of the term conflicts with that of ordinary language, some psychologists have preferred to describe this process as "imaging" or "imagery" or to speak of it as "reproductive" as opposed to "productive" or "constructive" imagination. Constructive imagination is further divided into voluntary imagination driven by the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) and involuntary imagination (LPFC-independent), such as REM-sleep dreaming, daydreaming, hallucinations, and spontaneous insight. The voluntary types of imagination include integration of modifiers, and mental rotation. Imagined images, both novel and recalled, are seen with the "mind's eye". Imagination, however, is not considered to be exclusively a cognitive activity because it is also linked to the body and place, particularly that it also involves setting up relationships with materials and people, precluding the sense that imagination is locked away in the head.Imagination can also be expressed through stories such as fairy tales or fantasies. Children often use such narratives and pretend play in order to exercise their imaginations. When children develop fantasy they play at two levels: first, they use role playing to act out what they have developed with their imagination, and at the second level they play again with their make-believe situation by acting as if what they have developed is an actual reality.

ChatGPT

  1. imaginative

    Imaginative refers to the ability or quality of forming new and creative ideas, images, or concepts in the mind. It relates to showing originality, inventiveness, or resourcefulness, often in a way that involves breaking away from established norms, conventions, or traditional ways of thinking.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Imaginativeadjective

    proceeding from, and characterized by, the imagination, generally in the highest sense of the word

  2. Imaginativeadjective

    given to imagining; full of images, fancies, etc.; having a quick imagination; conceptive; creative

  3. Imaginativeadjective

    unreasonably suspicious; jealous

  4. Etymology: [F. imaginatif.]

Wikidata

  1. Imaginative

    Imaginative is the second full-length album by Swedish progressive rock band Waterclime. It was released on 19 October 2007 and produced, mixed and mastered by Mr V at Waves Studios in 2007.

Editors Contribution

  1. imaginative

    To have.the ability, capacity and knowing to imagine and use our imagination

    We are imaginative in the creation of our wedding, it is an expression of our love for each other.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 19, 2020  

Suggested Resources

  1. Imaginative

    Imaginative vs. Imaginary -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Imaginative and Imaginary.

British National Corpus

  1. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'imaginative' in Adjectives Frequency: #1010

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of imaginative in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of imaginative in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of imaginative in a Sentence

  1. Ian Ziering:

    Our writer Thunder Levin is very creative, he's very imaginative and he doesn't try to outdo what he's already done, you can't outdo jumping into a shark and chain-sawing your way out. What he's so clever at is finding other moments that are equally jaw-dropping, so the movie just continues on the peaks and valleys, and it's a great, great ride for everybody.

  2. Oscar Wilde:

    To be good, according to the vulgar standard of goodness, is obviously quite easy. It merely requires a certain amount of sordid terror, a certain lack of imaginative thought, and a certain low passion for middle-class respectability.

  3. George Santayana:

    A string of excited, fugitive, miscellaneous pleasures is not happiness happiness resides in imaginative reflection and judgment, when the picture of one's life, or of human life, as it truly has been or is, satisfies the will, and is gladly accepted.

  4. Kurt Vonnegut: Breakfast of Champions:

    1492. As children we were taught to memorize this year with pride and joy as the year people began living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America. Actually, people had been living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America for hundreds of years before that. 1492 was simply the year sea pirates began to rob, cheat, and kill them.

  5. Prime Minister David Cameron:

    My priority is to reform the European Union to make it more competitive and address the concerns of the British people about our membership. The status quo is not good enough, what matters is that the European Union and its 28 members are flexible and imaginative enough to respond to these issues.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

imaginative#10000#19460#100000

Translations for imaginative

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"imaginative." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 15 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/imaginative>.

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