Meaning & use
creation
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Meanings
noununcountable
The process of making something exist that did not exist before.
Grammar: Usually followed by of: the creation of a new company; it takes no plural here.
Patterns
- the creation of something
The creation of the new park took almost three years.
Job creation was the main promise of the campaign.
She enjoys the creation of a dish more than eating it.
nouncountable
A thing that someone has made, especially something original or artistic.
Grammar: Countable: one creation, many creations.
Patterns
- someone's latest creation
The cake was a stunning creation covered in sugar flowers.
Each of the designer's creations sold out within a week.
The museum displays the artist's most famous creations.
nounsingularreligion
The universe and everything in it, or the act by which a god is believed to have made it.
Grammar: Often written with a capital C and used with the or without an article.
Patterns
- since the creation of the world
Many cultures have stories about the creation of the world.
The poem praises the beauty of all creation.
The chapter retells the Creation as it appears in the book of Genesis.
Word forms
| plural | creations |
|---|
Common combinations
- the creation of
- The creation of a single currency changed trade across Europe.
- job creation
- The town needs job creation more than new roads.
- artistic creation
- Silence helps her artistic creation.
- culinary creation
- The chef's latest culinary creation is a chocolate and chili tart.
- since the creation of
- It is the biggest storm since the creation of the weather station.
Synonyms and how they differ
- invention
- Invention suggests a new device or idea, whereas creation covers art, organizations and anything made.
- production
- Production stresses making things in quantity or staging a show, while creation stresses newness.
- formation
- Formation fits things that develop gradually, such as rocks or a government, and creation implies deliberate making.
- work
- Work is a plainer word for something produced, especially in art or writing.
Opposites
Word family
- create verb
- to make something new
- creative adjective
- able to make original things
- creator noun
- a person who makes something
- creativity noun
- the ability to produce original ideas
- recreation noun
- enjoyable activity in free time, a different word with a similar spelling
Commonly confused: creation or recreation?
creation vs recreation
Recreation means leisure or fun activities, not the making of something new.
Practice
Which sentence uses creation to mean something a person has made?
Choose one answer.
Only the second sentence uses creation as a countable thing someone made. The first is the process, the third is the abstract act, and the fourth refers to the origin of the world.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “creation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.