declarative
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does declarative mean? Declarative describes something that makes information known, offers an explicit explanation, or describes something that makes an official statement, as in The prime minister gave a declarative speech on her opposition to the war. If someone is giving a declarative statement, then they are clearly and firmly stating something, as in The mayor’s declarative report detailed her plans to decrease pollution. In English grammar, a declarative sentence is used to state facts, opinions, or other information, as this sentence does. Another word for declarative is declaratory, which is often used in law and legal documentation. Example: When Ming started skipping practices, the coach saw it as a declarative statement that Ming was done with the team.
Other Word Forms
- declaratively adverb
- nondeclarative adjective
- nondeclaratively adverb
- nondeclaratory adjective
- undeclarative adjective
Etymology
Origin of declarative
1530–40; < Latin dēclārātīvus explanatory, equivalent to dēclārāt ( us ) ( declaration ) + -īvus -ive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The audience seem to know every word - with the whole room reverberating to the declarative, "I don't need a boyfriend", that crops up in the second verse of Nice To Each Other.
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
“Call me Ishmael,” which opens Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick,” is among the most famous first lines in all of literature, but I prefer a different declarative Melville opening: “I am a rather elderly man.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
This lack of preexisting health guidelines has made it hard for public health officials to describe the situation at the coast in simple, declarative terms.
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2025
He further argued that concept cells were fundamental components, or building blocks, of declarative memory.
From Salon • Mar. 25, 2025
“You’re making a lot of declarative statements for someone who just got here.”
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
