inventive

adjective

in·​ven·​tive in-ˈven-tiv 

1

: adept or prolific at producing inventions : creative

an inventive mind

2

: characterized by invention

an inventive method

inventively adverb

inventiveness noun

Synonyms

• innovative
• imaginative
• creative
• clever

Examples of inventive in a Sentence

They have given their new company an inventive name.

inventive ways to use leftovers

Recent Examples on the Web

Readers raved about the inventive New Mexican cuisine and the destination’s natural beauty—sitting at 7,000 feet, Santa Fe is at the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range and enjoys over 300 days of sunshine per year. —Elizabeth Cantrell, Travel + Leisure, 8 July 2025

Some inventive past examples include a popular touring revue with Ira Glass, a disco dance workout through the galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a meditation on loneliness in the public atrium of a Financial District shopping mall. —Brian Schaefer july 7, Literary Hub, 7 July 2025

Whatever happens thereafter in David and Leslie Newman’s inventive and energetic script is inevitably some thing of a letdown although — not much. —Arthur Knight, HollywoodReporter, 7 July 2025

Expect inventive, hyper-local dishes like bone marrow focaccia, duck smoked over table-shaving wood, and wild sorrel ceviche. —Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for inventive

• agentive
• attentive
• incentive
• preventive
• retentive
• disincentive
• inattentive

Kids Definition

inventive

adjective

in·​ven·​tive in-ˈvent-iv 

: gifted with the skill and imagination to invent

inventively adverb

inventiveness noun