Meaning & use
creative pursuits
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Meaning
nounusually plural
Activities such as painting, writing, music or crafts that a person spends time on to make original things.
Grammar: Usually plural: he enjoys creative pursuits. Singular is fine for one activity: photography is his creative pursuit.
Patterns
- pursue creative pursuits
- time for creative pursuits
- enjoy creative pursuits
Retirement gave him time for creative pursuits like pottery and poetry.
She balances her job with creative pursuits in the evenings.
Many parents encourage children to try different creative pursuits.
Word forms
| plural | creative pursuits |
|---|
Common combinations
- enjoy creative pursuits
- My grandmother enjoys creative pursuits such as knitting.
- devote time to creative pursuits
- He devotes weekends to creative pursuits.
- artistic and creative pursuits
- The club supports artistic and creative pursuits.
- outside of creative pursuits
- Outside of creative pursuits, she works as an accountant.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hobbies
- Hobbies covers any leisure activity, whereas creative pursuits limits the idea to making or inventing things.
- pastimes
- Pastimes suggests relaxed ways of passing time, not necessarily producing something original.
- artistic endeavors
- Artistic endeavors sounds more serious and formal, and is limited to the arts.
Word family
- pursue verb
- to follow or try to achieve
- pursuit noun
- an activity done regularly or the act of chasing
- creativity noun
- the ability to produce original ideas
- creative adjective
- original and inventive
Commonly confused: creative pursuits or pursuance?
creative pursuits vs pursuance
Pursuance is a formal word meaning the carrying out of something, as in in pursuance of a goal, and does not mean an activity.
Practice
Now that the children are older, she has more time for ____ like painting and writing.
Choose one answer.
Creative pursuits is the standard noun phrase for activities like painting and writing. The other options are not grammatical noun phrases in this context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “creative pursuits”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.