formative years

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   The early part of someone's life, when their character, beliefs and habits are mostly shaped.

   Grammar: Always plural, often with a possessive: during her formative years.

   Patterns

   • in someone's formative years
   • during the formative years

   He spent his formative years on a small farm.

   Reading in her formative years shaped her taste for history.

   Her formative years in Lagos gave her a love of music.

2. 2nounplural

   The early period of an organization, movement or idea, when its basic form is set.

   Grammar: Used for non-human subjects: the formative years of the company.

   Patterns

   • the formative years of something

   The company's formative years were marked by constant struggle.

   In its formative years, the club had only ten members.

   The formative years of the internet shaped how it works today.

Common combinations

spend your formative years

She spent her formative years in three different countries.

during the formative years

Habits learned during the formative years are hard to break.

in his formative years

In his formative years he read everything he could find.

early formative years

The early formative years often set a child's confidence.

shaped in the formative years

His values were shaped in the formative years of poverty.

Synonyms and how they differ

early years

Early years is plainer and simply means the first stage of life, with no suggestion that character was being shaped.

childhood

Childhood is narrower, covering only the time before adolescence, while formative years may continue into the teens.

impressionable years

Impressionable years stresses how easily someone is influenced, whereas formative years stresses the long-term result.

developmental years

Developmental years is more technical and used in psychology or education, and sounds clinical next to formative years.

Opposites

Word family

form verb

to shape or create

formation noun

the process of forming something

formative adjective

having a lasting influence on development

formatively adverb

in a way that shapes development

Commonly confused: formative years or formal years?

Practice

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