Basic Details
Word: Imaginative
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Good at thinking of new and interesting ideas, or showing such ideas.
Synonyms: creative, inventive, original, inspired
Antonyms: unimaginative, dull, ordinary
How to Spell Imaginative
Syllables: i - mag - i - na - tive
Tricky part: The letter after the n is a, not i: imaginative, not imaginitive. The e of imagine goes when -ative is added.
Watch out for: imaginitive, imagenative, immaginative
Memory tip: Take imagination and swap -tion for -tive. The a after the n stays in both words: imagin-A-tion, imagin-A-tive.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The children made imaginative masks out of newspaper and flour paste.
Example 2: An imaginative cook can make a good meal from leftover rice and a few vegetables.
Example 3: Her imaginative answer about life on Mars made the whole class laugh.
Fun Fact
The suffix -ive turns many verbs into adjectives in the same way: create gives creative, attract gives attractive, and imagine gives imaginative.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the suffix -ative to make a real word. Choose it:
-ative
a) imagine
b) explode
c) forgive
d) divide
Show answer
a) imagine. Imagine drops its e and takes -ative; explode becomes explosive, and the other two take no such ending.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word imaginative as used in the sentence:
Our new history teacher has imaginative ways of teaching, like putting Akbar on trial in class.
a) inventive
b) careless
c) colourful
d) unoriginal
Show answer
d) unoriginal. Imaginative ideas are fresh, so unoriginal is the opposite; inventive means nearly the same.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The judges loved the boy's vetangimaii design for a fan that runs on rainwater.
a) imaginary
b) informative
c) imaginative
d) innovative
Show answer
c) imaginative. The jumble holds a g, a t and a v, and only imaginative has all three.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is the most imaginative use of an old tyre?
a) a tyre thrown in a drain
b) a tyre kept in a corner
c) a tyre left on a car
d) a swing hung from a tree
Show answer
d) a swing hung from a tree
2. An imaginative writer is one who ____.
a) writes very slowly
b) copies other people's work
c) comes up with fresh ideas
d) uses only short words
Show answer
c) comes up with fresh ideas
