expository

American  

[ik-spoz-i-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ɪkˈspɒz ɪˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

Also expositive

adjective

1. of the nature of exposition; serving to expound, set forth, or explain.

   an expository essay;

   expository writing.

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expository British  

/ ɪkˈspɒzɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. of, involving, or assisting in exposition; explanatory

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• semiexpository
  adjective
• expositively
  adverb
• expositorily
  adverb
• semiexpositive
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of expository

From the Medieval Latin word expositōrius, dating back to 1590–1600. See expositor, -tory ¹

Explanation

The first few minutes of a first date typically consist of expository chit-chat, meaning that that's when people fill each other in on the basics: where they're from, what they studied in school, and what they want to be when they grow up. It's background info. A synonym for expository is explanatory. It might help to relate the words, as expository dialogue usually exists to give the audience an explanation of a character's previous actions. The challenge for a playwright is to communicate exposition by crafting expository dialogue that isn't boring. It's often a sign of amateur writing when the expository information stands out as just that. The experienced writer can hide the expository information inside the action and other speeches.

Example Sentences

Expository flashbacks would be antithetical to Hansen-Løve’s objectives, but here, with wordless economy, she pries open a window into past stories, past experiences.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2022

Expository dialogue alternates with and is sometimes interrupted by a hail of arrows, a dazzling flight of combat choreography, computer-assisted explosions or some combination of them all.

From New York Times • Sep. 1, 2011

Expository dialogue, repetitious action and one-dimensional characterization make The Plot feel more like a lesson than a deeply involving story.

From Time Magazine Archive

He desires to thank the Editors of the Expository Times, Church Missionary Review, Irish Church Quarterly, and London Quarterly Review for permission to include papers which have appeared in those journals.

From Mystics and Saints of Islam by Field, Claud

From the "Expository Lectures on the Heidelberg Catechism."

From Choice Specimens of American Literature, and Literary Reader Being Selections from the Chief American Writers by Martin, Benj. N.