create

See also: creäte

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English createn, from Latin creātus, the perfect passive participle of creō. In this sense, mostly displaced Old English wyrċan (whence Modern English work) and ġesċieppan (whence Modern English shape).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /kɹiːˈeɪt/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪt

Verb

create (third-person singular simple present creates, present participle creating, simple past and past participle created)

  1. (transitive) To bring into existence; (sometimes in particular:)
    Synonyms: generate, make
    Antonyms: annihilate, extinguish
    You can create the color orange by mixing yellow and red.
    • 1829, Thomas Tully Crybbace, An Essay on Moral Freedom:
      [...] God created man a moral agent.
    • 2012 March-April, Terrence J. Sejnowski, “Well-connected Brains”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 171:
      Creating a complete map of the human connectome would therefore be a monumental milestone but not the end of the journey to understanding how our brains work.
    • 2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 48:
      The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about "creating compelling content", […] "share the things you love with the world" and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.
    1. (especially of a god) To bring into existence out of nothing, without the prior existence of the materials or elements used.
      • 1560, [William Whittingham et al., transl.], The Bible and Holy Scriptures Conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament. […] (the Geneva Bible), Geneva: […] Rouland Hall, →OCLC, Genesis I:1, folio 1, recto:
        In the beginning God created ye heauen and the earth. And the earth was without forme & voyde, and darkenes was vpon the depe, & the Spirit of God moued vpon the waters.
    2. To make or produce from other (e.g. raw, unrefined or scattered) materials or combinable elements or ideas; to design or invest with a new form, shape, function, etc.
      Synonym: invent
      Antonym: imitate
      Couturiers create exclusive garments for an affluent clientele.
      • 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:
        From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. […] But viewed from high up in one of the growing number of skyscrapers in Sri Lanka’s capital, it is clear that something extraordinary is happening: China is creating a shipping hub just 200 miles from India’s southern tip.
  2. (transitive) To cause, to bring (a non-object) about by an action, behavior, or event, to occasion.
    crop failures created food shortages and high prices; his stubbornness created many difficulties
    A sudden chemical spill on the highway created a chain‐collision which created a record traffic jam.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one.
  3. (transitive) To confer or invest with a rank or title of nobility, to appoint, ordain or constitute.
    Henry VIII created him a Duke.   Last month, the queen created two barons.
    Under the concordate with Belgium, at least one Belgian clergyman must be created cardinal; by tradition, every archbishop of Mechelen is thus created a cardinal.
    • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene i:
      Create him Prorex of Affrica,
      That he may win the Babilonians hearts,
      Which will reuolt from Perſean gouernment,
      Unleſſe they haue a wiſer King than you.
  4. (intransitive) To be or do something creative, imaginative, originative.
    Children usually enjoy creating, never mind if it is of any use!
  5. (transitive) In theatre, to be the first performer of a role; to originate a character.
  6. (UK, intransitive, colloquial) To make a fuss, complain; to shout.
    • 1972, H. E. Bates, The Song of the Wren:
      'What's the time?' she said. 'I must fly. Miss'll start creating.'

Conjugation
Conjugation of create
infinitive (to) create
present tense past tense
1st-person singular create created
2nd-person singular create, createst† created, createdst†
3rd-person singular creates, createth† created
plural create
subjunctive create created
imperative create —
participles creating created

†Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Adjective

create (comparative more create, superlative most create)

  1. (obsolete) Created, resulting from creation.

Translations
created — see created

Further reading

Anagrams

Italian

Verb

create

  1. inflection of creare:
    1. second-person plural present indicative
    2. second-person plural imperative

Anagrams

Latin

Pronunciation

Verb

creāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of creō

Participle

creāte

  1. vocative masculine singular of creātus

Anagrams

Middle English

Adjective

create

  1. Alternative form of creat

Verb

create

  1. Alternative form of creat

Spanish

Verb

create

  1. second-person singular voseo imperative of crear combined with te
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