formative
formative Lexical Profile
formative Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Serving to form something, especially having a profound and lasting influence on a person's development or character.
"She spent her formative years growing up in a small coastal village."
Relating to the ongoing evaluation of student learning and progress during a course of instruction to provide constructive feedback.
"The teacher uses short weekly quizzes as formative assessments to see which topics need further review."
Capable of producing new cells or tissue by growth and differentiation, or serving to form words in grammar.
"The cambium is a formative layer of tissue in vascular plants."
• noun
A linguistic element, such as an affix or root, that functions in the formation or derivation of words.
"In morphology, prefixes and suffixes are analyzed as formatives that modify the base meaning of a stem."
Word Nuance & Usage
In educational pedagogy, 'formative' assessment (ongoing feedback used to guide learning during instruction) is explicitly contrasted with 'summative' assessment (final evaluation at the end of an instructional unit).
• Rhymes for formative
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 15th century from Old French 'formatif' or Medieval Latin 'formativus', derived from the Latin verb 'formare' (to shape or fashion), from 'forma' (form, contour, or mold).