Innovative

How to spell innovative

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce innovative

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does innovative mean?

1. adjectiveIntroducing or featuring new methods, ideas, or products; advanced and original.

Innovative in a sentence

• The startup won an award for its innovative approach to recycling.

• Managers praised her innovative solution to the staffing shortage.

Where does innovative come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin verb innovare, meaning 'to renew' or 'to make new', which was formed from the prefix in- ('into') and novus ('new'). From innovare came the noun innovatio, describing the act of introducing something fresh, and English picked up the related family during the 1500s. The adjective 'innovative' itself, meaning 'inclined to introduce new things', settled into regular use somewhat later as the noun 'innovation' and verb 'innovate' became common in discussions of business and invention. The very same Latin root novus also gives us 'novel', 'novelty', and 'renovate', all carrying that core idea of newness. A handy spelling reminder is that the heart of the word is plain 'nov' (new), with a single n in the middle, even though the word opens with a doubled-feeling 'inn-' from the prefix in-.

How the word is built

• in- (into)
• nov (new, from Latin novus)
• -at(e) (verb formative)
• -ive (adjective suffix: tending to)