explicative
adjective
ex·pli·ca·tive ek-ˈspli-kə-tiv 
ˈek-splə-ˌkā-
ˈek-splə-ˌkā- : serving to explicate
specifically : serving to explain logically what is contained in the subject
an explicative proposition
explicatively adverb
Synonyms
- elucidative
- exegetical
- exegetic
- explanative
- explanatory
- explicatory
- expositive
- expository
- illuminative
- illustrative
- interpretative
- interpretive
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a dearth of explicative material to help the layman understand the difficult subject matter
Recent Examples on the Web 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
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 the word is not an entry in Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources or Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch.
First Known Use
1602, in the meaning defined above
explicative
adjective
as in explanative
serving to explain a dearth of explicative material to help the layman understand the difficult subject matter Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- explanative
- interpretive
- interpretative
- illustrative
- explanatory
- illuminative
- explicatory
- expositive
- expository
- elucidative
- analytic
- exegetic
- exegetical
- analytical
- discursive
- demonstrative
- exculpatory
- exonerative