Innovative vs Innovatory

Question

I came accross the word innovatory today.

Few terrorist tactics or targets are ever entirely original, but a combination of different elements can often be innovatory. [The Guardian]

I checked ODO and it seems to have the same menaing as innovative:

innovative

(Of a product, idea, etc.) featuring new methods; advanced and original: [ODO]

Innovatory is listed as the adjectival form of innovate:

innovate

Make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products [ODO]

Merriam Webster has similar definitions.

Google Ngram shows innovative to be far more popular than innovatory:

My question: is there a situation where one would be preferable to the other, or are they completely interchangeable?

As a side note, the Guardian often says shit merely for the sake of saying it, not because it's necessarily true or even useful. Some of it is just clickbait. Take their usages, and their articles with a grain of salt (I'm looking at you Valenti). — Misneac, Nov 14 '15 at 10:30
@Misneac: What's this obsession with shit? ELU is for for linguists, etymologists, and (serious) English language enthusiasts, not coprophiliacs (even if we do know that word! :) — FumbleFingers, Nov 14 '15 at 13:48
When one is trying to make something clear to the widest possible range of people I think it's best to use something everyone can relate to. If you read much Jessica Valenti you might not be so skeptical of that comparison ;) As for the photographer becoming jaded by the ghastly conditions, you'd be hard pressed to say it wasn't a shitty time. — Misneac, Nov 14 '15 at 14:06

Misneac · Answer 1 · 2015-11-14T10:42:23.917

Subjectively, if they're completely interchangeable it would seem preferable to use "innovative" since according to your data (and my experience) it's far more common. Having looked at a bunch of different definitions for each the differences are so minor as to be reasonably attributed to word choice by the various publications. I would say they ARE interchangeable, but that "innovative" is preferable since it's more widely understood.

Innovative vs Innovatory

1 Answers1