Meaning Of Formative

a.

Giving form; having the power of giving form; plastic; as, the formative arts.

a.

Serving to form; derivative; not radical; as, a termination merely formative.

a.

Capable of growth and development; germinal; as, living or formative matter.

n.

That which serves merely to give form, and is no part of the radical, as the prefix or the termination of a word.

n.

A word formed in accordance with some rule or usage, as from a root.