What does innovativeness mean?
Innovativeness is the quality of being creative, original, and willing to introduce new ideas or methods. It is commonly used to describe people, companies, products, institutions, and broader social or technological change. In business and design contexts, it often suggests practical ingenuity: finding a different way to solve a problem, developing a new product, or improving an established process. The word can also carry a mildly promotional tone, particularly in descriptions of organisations and products. It differs from “innovation,” which can refer to an actual new idea, method, or product, whereas “innovativeness” focuses more on the quality or tendency that makes innovation possible. Although the word is useful for describing creative and forward-looking behaviour, specific examples are often more informative than the general term alone.
nounThe quality of being innovative, especially the tendency to introduce new ideas, methods, or products. It is often used to describe a person, organisation, or culture that values originality and change.
- The quality or tendency to introduce new ideas, approaches, technologies, or products; originality and inventive thinking.
"The company is known for the innovativeness of its research and the originality of its products."
"Her innovativeness transformed the way the small team approached its work."
"The award celebrates innovativeness in public services and community design."
The plural is grammatically possible but is rarely used in ordinary English.
"The report compares the innovativenesses of several regional design studios."
Innovativeness is the habit of asking not only how something works, but how it could be made entirely new.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does innovativeness come from?
The word comes through English from Latin “innovare,” meaning “to renew” or “alter,” formed from “in-” and “novus,” meaning “new.” The development of “innovativeness” reflects the wider English vocabulary of innovation and the adjective “innovative,” all sharing this root. Its cognate relatives include “innovate,” “innovation,” “innovator,” and “innovative,” which preserve the same idea of introducing or making something new.
Related word forms
How innovativeness is actually used
Usually used in a positive or professional register. It can sound more evaluative and institutional than the simpler word “originality,” and is often used when discussing organisations, products, design, research, or social change.
Easily confused with innovativeness
Innovativeness is the quality or tendency to be innovative, whereas innovation more often refers to a new idea, method, or product itself.