Form"a*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. formatif.] 1. Giving form; having the power of giving form; plastic; as, the formative arts.

The meanest plant can not be raised without seed, by any formative residing in the soil.

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

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

Form"a*tive, n. (Gram.) (a) That which serves merely to give form, and is no part of the radical, as the prefix or the termination of a word. (b) A word formed in accordance with some rule or usage, as from a root.

• of, or relating to the formation and subsequent growth of something
       My formative years were spent in an inner city.
  
• capable of forming something
  
• (biology) capable of producing new tissue
  
• (grammar) relating to the inflection of words
  
• (grammar) a language unit that has morphological function