unoriginativeadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnəˈrɪdʒᵻnətɪv/, U.S. /ˌənəˈrɪdʒəˌneɪdɪv/, /ˌənəˈrɪdʒənəɪdɪv/ Not originative, not producing or initiating something original.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > [adjective] > not original or derivative
secondary1398
borrowed1571
third hand1598
denominative1624
second hand1654
second-handed1682
of second hand1708
unoriginal1749
uninventive1776
unoriginative1845
uncreative1855
hand-me-down1881
reach-me-down1907
cookie cutter1922
1845 R. Howitt Impressions Austral. Felix 326 They seem, like the aborigines, imitative but unoriginative.
1874 A. H. Sayce Princ. Compar. Philol. iii. 114 Unlike the Aryans they [sc. the Etruscans] were unoriginative and receptive.
1918 N. Amer. Rev. May 738 Its author follows Shaw in preferring the originative mind and (it may be) a halting performance, to the unoriginative mind and (possibly) a complete performance.
1991 R. C. Morris Process Philos. & Polit. Ideol. ii. 40 The mental functioning of the occasion is consequently negligible, basically being confined to conceptual reproduction and unoriginative repetition.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1845