explicative

adjective

ex·pli·ca·tive ek-ˈspli-kə-tiv

ˈek-splə-ˌkā-

Synonyms of explicative next

: serving to explicate

specifically : serving to explain logically what is contained in the subject

an explicative proposition

explicatively adverb

Examples of explicative in a Sentence

a dearth of explicative material to help the layman understand the difficult subject matter

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

While Clarkson was amazed by her skills, Parton was able to slip in an explicative on daytime television. —

Vulture, 21 Dec. 2022 Much of the dialogue is obvious and explicative; young Bode sometimes sounds like a middle-aged professor. —

Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2020 There are periodic explicative orations about the state of the nation. —

Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2019

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin explicātīvus, from Latin explicātus, past participle of explicāre "to free from folds or creases, unroll, spread out, set out in words" + -īvus -ive — more at explicate

Note: The word explicātīvus is categorized as Medieval Latin in Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, though it is not an entry in Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources or Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch.

First Known Use

1602, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of explicative was in 1602

See more words from the same year