English
create
Etymology

From Middle English createn, from Latin creātus, the perfect passive participle of creō.

Pronunciation
  • IPA: /kɹiːˈeɪt/
Verb

create (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.
    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#Verb or produce#Verb 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.
      Synonyms: invent
      Antonyms: imitate
      Couturiers create exclusive garments for an affluent clientele.
  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.

Related terms Translations Translations Translations Translations Adjective

create

  1. (obsolete) Created, resulting from creation.
    • 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act II, scene ii]:
      Hearts create of duty and zeal.
    • 1814, Dante Alighieri, “Canto III”, in H[enry] F[rancis] Cary, transl., The Vision; or, Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, of Dante Alighieri. […], volume I (Hell), London: […] [J. Barfield] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC ↗, page 10 ↗, lines 7–9:
      Before me things create were none, save things / Eternal, and eternal I endure. / All hope abandon ye who enter here. [Inscription on the gate of Hell.]


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