formative

 
Pronunciation: /ˈfɔːmətɪv/

adjective

  • serving to form something, especially having a profound influence on a person’s development: his formative years
  • relating to a person’s development: a formative assessment
  • Linguistics denoting or relating to any of the smallest meaningful units that are used to form words in a language, typically combining forms and inflections.

noun

Linguistics
  • a formative element.

Derivatives

formatively

adverb

Origin:

late 15th century: from Old French formatif, -ive or medieval Latin formativus, from Latin formare 'to form' (see form)