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Formative vs Primary - What's the difference?

formative | primary | Related terms |

Formative is a related term of primary.


As adjectives the difference between formative and primary

is that formative is of or pertaining to the formation and subsequent growth of something while primary is the first in a group or series.

As nouns the difference between formative and primary

is that formative is (grammar) a language unit that has morphological function while primary is a primary election; a preliminary election to select a political candidate of a political party.

As a verb primary is

(us|intransitive) to take part in a primary election.

formative

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Of or pertaining to the formation and subsequent growth of something.
  • My formative years were spent in an inner city.
  • Capable of forming something.
  • (biology) Capable of producing new tissue.
  • (grammar) Pertaining to the inflection of words.
  • Derived terms

    * formativeness

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (grammar) A language unit that has morphological function.
  • ----

    primary

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • The first in a group or series.
  • Children attend primary school, and teenagers attend secondary school.
  • * Bishop Pearson
  • the church of Christ, in its primary institution
  • * John Locke
  • These I call original, or primary , qualities of body.
  • Main; principal; placed ahead of others.
  • Preferred stock has primary claim on dividends, ahead of common stock.
  • (geology) Earliest formed; fundamental.
  • (chemistry) Illustrating, possessing, or characterized by, some quality or property in the first degree; having undergone the first stage of substitution or replacement.
  • (label) idiopathic
  • Derived terms

    * primarily * primary care * primary color, primary colour * primary producer * primary research * primary school * primary source

    See also

    * first * primus inter pares * secondary (2) * tertiary (3) * quaternary (4)

    Noun

    (primaries)
  • A primary election; a preliminary election to select a political candidate of a political party.
  • The first year of grade school.
  • A base or fundamental component; something that is irreducible.
  • The most massive component of a gravitationally bound system.
  • A primary school.
  • * 2001 , David Woods, Martyn Cribb, Effective LEAs and school improvement
  • Excellence in Cities offers a further development of this approach, whereby secondary schools operate with small clusters of primaries as mini-EAZs.
  • (ornithology) Any flight feather attached to the manus (hand) of a bird.
  • A primary colour.
  • * 2003 , Julie A Jacko, Andrew Sears, The human-computer interaction handbook
  • By adding and subtracting the three primaries , cyan, yellow, and magenta are produced. These are called subtractive primaries.
  • (electronics) A directly driven inductive coil, as in a transformer or induction motor that is magnetically coupled to a secondary
  • Verb

  • (US) To take part in a primary election.
  • (US, politics) To challenge an incumbent sitting politician for their political party's endorsement to run for re-election, through running a challenger campaign in a primary election