transformative

English

WOTD – 21 April 2021

Etymology

From Medieval Latin transformātīvus (“transformative”), from Latin trānsfōrmātus (“transformed”) + -īvus (suffix attached to the perfect passive participial stems of verbs, forming deverbal adjectives meaning ‘doing or related to doing [the verb]’). Trānsfōrmātus is the perfect passive participle of trānsfōrmō (“to transform”), from trāns- (prefix meaning ‘across; beyond; through’) + fōrmō (“to fashion, form, format, shape”) (from fōrma (“appearance, figure, form, shape”); further etymology unknown, perhaps related to Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ, “a form, shape”)).[1] The English word is analysable as transform +‎ -ative.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /trɑːnsˈfɔːmətɪv/, /tɹæns-/
- Audio (RP) (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /tɹænsˈfɔɹmətɪv/, [-ɾɪv]
- Audio (Mid-Atlantic) (file)
Hyphenation: trans‧form‧a‧tive

Adjective

transformative (comparative more transformative, superlative most transformative)

That causes a transformation; causing a notable and lasting change
Synonyms: transformatory, transmutative
Antonym: nontransformative
- 2019 November 6, Graeme Pickering, “New targets for Northumberland”, in Rail, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, ISSN 0953-4563, OCLC 999467860, page 46:
  "You'll know the transformative effect that the Metro has had on the whole of Tyneside," says NCC [Northumberland County Council] leader Peter Jackson. "This new passenger line will have the same effect on southeast Northumberland. It's a transformative project and we're going to make sure it happens."
(linguistics) Chiefly in transformative-generative: of or relating to a theory of generative grammar in which defined operations called transformations produce new sentences from existing ones; transformational.

Derived terms

biotransformative
nontransformative
transformative action
transformative economics
transformative justice
transformative learning
transformatively
transformative planning
transformative research
transformativity

Related terms

transform
transformable
transformance (rare)
transformant
transformation
transformational
transformator (archaic)
transformatory
transformed (adjective)
transformer
transformerless
transforming (adjective, noun)
transformism
transformist

Translations

that causes transformation

Catalan: transformatiu
Estonian: transformeeriv
Finnish: käänteentekevä
French: transformateur (fr)
Italian: trasformativo
Middle English: vertuous (rare)
Polish: transformacyjny
Spanish: transformativo (es)

of or relating to a theory of generative grammar in which defined operations called transformations produce new sentences from existing ones — See also translations at transformational

Russian: преврати́тельный (ru) (prevratítelʹnyj)

References

“transformative, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2018; “transformative, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.