generative

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See also: générative

English

Etymology

From Middle English generatyve, generatyf, generatif, equivalent to generate +‎ -ive. Compare French génératif.

Pronunciation

Adjective

generative (comparative more generative, superlative most generative)

  1. Having the power of generating, propagating, originating, or producing.
    Synonym: creative
    Antonym: annihilative
    • 1692, Richard Bentley, (please specify the sermon), London: , published 1692–1693:
      That generative particle.
    • 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 127:
      Of course, structures like those associated with (36) and (37) constitute only a tiny subset of the infinite set of well-formed sentence structures found in English. We can increase the Generative Capacity of our grammar ( = the set of structures which it generates) either by expanding the Lexicon on the one hand, or by expanding the Categorial Rules (i.e. Phrase Structure Rules) on the other.
    • 2025 January 30, Tessa Solomon, “AI Art Lacking ‘Human Expression’ Cannot Be Copyrighted, US Officials Say”, in ARTnews‎:
      The document states that despite its ongoing advancements, generative AI is liable to the United States’s current copyright principles, which take a strict stance on what material—human- or machine-made—qualifies for protection.
  2. (euphemistic) reproductive
    • 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page iii:
      Hence the ubiquity of Priapus himself as a sculptural representative of the generative principle, populated the Roman gardens, assertive in ithyphallic pose.
    • 2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 91:
      This ceremony seals the covenant in the flesh of the male generative organ.

Derived terms

Translations

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

generative

  1. inflection of generativ:
    1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
    2. strong nominative/accusative plural
    3. weak nominative all-gender singular
    4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /d͡ʒe.ne.raˈti.ve/
  • Rhymes: -ive
  • Hyphenation: ge‧ne‧ra‧tì‧ve

Adjective

generative

  1. feminine plural of generativo

Anagrams

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