exploratory
/ɪkˈsplɒrət(ə)ri
/ /ɛkˈsplɒrət(ə)ri/adjective
Relating to or involving exploration or investigation: surgeons performed an exploratory operation exploratory talks...
- Further exploratory investigations were carried out to determine whether these were pertinent here.
- He suffered a stomach wound, but an exploratory operation showed none of his organs was damaged.
- Music that sounded tentative and exploratory a few years ago now has its feet firmly on the ground.
Synonyms
investigative, investigational, explorative, probing, fact-finding, analytic, searching;
experimental, trial, test, pilot, preliminary, provisional, tentative
Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin exploratorius, from Latin explorare (see explore).