formative

Etymology

From Middle French formatif.

adj

1. Of or pertaining to the formation and subsequent growth of something.
   My formative years were spent in an inner city.
2. Capable of forming something.
3. (biology) Capable of producing new tissue.
4. (grammar) Pertaining to the inflection of words.
5. (education) Denoting forms of assessment used to guide learning rather than to quantify educational outcomes.

noun

1. (grammar) A language unit that has morphological function.