How to use formative in a sentence

12 example sentences · adjective, noun

Formative means capable of forming something. Example: “My formative years were spent in an inner city.”

Examples of formative by meaning

adjectiveOf or pertaining to the formation and subsequent growth of something.

My formative years were spent in an inner city.

nounA thing which causes formation to occur.

Not without a due proportion of that essential formative of character, east wind, it has at once the hottest sun, the coldest blizzards, the wettest rain, of any place of its size in 'the three kingdoms.'1907, John Galsworthy, “The Happy Hunting-ground”, in The Country House, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, part I, page 33

More sentences with formative

Light music was especially popular during the formative years of radio broadcasting.From the entry light music
Despite my mother speaking Khmer to us at home, I hadn’t retained it through my formative years.2024, Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time, Sceptre, page 6. From the entry Khmer
This was the first episode of Degrassi I saw, and it was a formative episode.2022 February, Kosoko Jackson, “Please, Sir, Can I Have Some More: How Bread Crumbs of Queer Characters in Entertainment Helped Me…. From the entry rep
The mythologizing, carried out over many decades, granted Italian-Americans “a formative role in the nation-building narrative.”2019 October 12, Brent Staples, quoting Danielle Battisti, “How Italians Became ‘White’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the…. From the entry nation-building
Each such group exercises a formative influence on the active dispositions of its members.2009, Problems of Education, →ISBN, page 70. From the entry fagin
The term microgenesis has been proposed for the continuous formative activity which underlies cognition.1975, American Handbook of Psychiatry: Organic Disorder and Psychosomatic Medicine, page 272. From the entry microgenesis
The current global pandemic is almost certainly a formative moment for younger Millennials and Zs as they navigate through similar challenges.2022, Morgen Witzel, editor, Post-Pandemic Leadership: Exploring Solutions to a Crisis, Routledge, →ISBN. From the entry z
A true individual is not conformative but formative.1932, Jean Toomer, “As the Eagle Soars”, in Crisis. From the entry conformative
Music is such a formative part of your teenage identity, so the top hits from your middle school days are definitely going to take you back.2018, Jessica Misener, Things to Do Before You’re 30: The Try-It-Out, Get-It-Done, Live-It-Up List!, Adams Media, →ISBN. From the entry cringe-y
Bedrocked in the formative race relations of the Heart of Dixie, the governor declined an invitation to the unveiling of artist Maya Lin's civil rights memorial in downtown Montgomery.2011, Allen Tullos, Alabama Getaway: The Political Imaginary and the Heart of Dixie, page 128. From the entry bedrock

Meaning of formative

adjective Capable of forming something.
adjective Capable of producing new tissue.
adjective Pertaining to the formation of words; specifically, of an affix: forming words through inflection.

Full definition of formative

Questions about formative in a sentence

How do you use formative in a sentence?: Formative is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “My formative years were spent in an inner city.”
What is a short sentence with formative?: “A true individual is not conformative but formative.”
What does formative mean?: Formative means capable of forming something.

Adapted from Wiktionary: formative (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use formative in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/formative. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.