transformative

adjective

trans·​for·​ma·​tive tran(t)s-ˈfȯr-mə-tiv 

: causing or able to cause an important and lasting change in someone or something

a transformative experience

And she'll tell anyone who asks about her transformative weeks working for UNICEF in Congo and Cambodia.

—S. L. Price

It is increasingly hard to escape the conclusion that American politics has entered one of those rare transformative moments that shape the content of our public discourse and the direction of our governance for generations.

—Doug Ireland

Examples of transformative in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For Glenn Close, Sharon Stone and Kathleen Turner, acting opposite Michael Douglas was transformative. — Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

The Encounters Award was created to spotlight the transformative role of private investment in culture, bringing together private funders and the creative professionals behind audiovisual productions. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 3 Oct. 2026

The financial runway cleared by its June IPO is transformative. — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026

And as artificial intelligence and other transformative technologies reshape industries, the states that lead will be the ones that generate innovation — not just attract it. — Michael Simas, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1668, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for transformative

• germinative
• argive
• forgive
• ogive
• outlive
• relive
• corroborative
• determinative
• give
• sieve
• resistive