Originality

əˌrɪdʒəˈnæləti

nounmedium📊CommonQuality
1 meaning3 questions

Definitions

1

The ability to think or act in an independent, creative, and novel way; the state of being new or different from anything seen or known before.

əˌrɪdʒəˈnæləti

nounpositivemedium
Quality

The quality of being new, different, and inventive.

The originality of her designs set her apart from other fashion designers.

💡 Simply: Originality is like being the first one to come up with a cool new idea! It's about being creative and not just copying what other people do. Like, if you make a unique drawing, that shows originality!

👶 For kids: Being original means doing something new and different, not copying other people.

More Examples

2

The judges were impressed by the originality of the presentation.

3

Originality is key in modern art.

How It's Used

Art

"The artist's work is celebrated for its originality and fresh perspective."

Business

"The company prizes originality in its marketing campaigns."

Science

"The originality of the scientist's research was recognized by the prestigious award."

From Late Latin *originalitas*, from Latin *originalis* ('original') + *-itas* ('-ity').

The term 'originality' gained prominence during the Romantic era, emphasizing the importance of individual creativity and breaking away from established norms.

Memory tip

Think of the word as a root that creates new ideas, like an original source of inspiration.

Word Origin

LanguageLatin
Original meaning

"the quality or state of being original"

a sense of originalitycreative originalitydemonstrate originalitylack of originalitytrue originality

Common misspellings

originalityeorignality

Usage

30%Spoken
70%Written