demonstrative

American  

[duh-mon-struh-tiv] / dəˈmɒn strə tɪv /

adjective

1. characterized by or given to open exhibition or expression of one's emotions, attitudes, etc., especially of love or affection.

   She wished her fiancé were more demonstrative.

2. serving to demonstrate; explanatory or illustrative.

3. serving to prove the truth of anything; indubitably conclusive.

4. Grammar. indicating or singling out the thing referred to. This is a demonstrative pronoun.

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noun

demonstratives plural

1. Grammar. a demonstrative word, as this or there.

demonstrative British  

/ dɪˈmɒnstrətɪv /

adjective

1. tending to manifest or express one's feelings easily or unreservedly

2. serving as proof; indicative

3. involving or characterized by demonstration

   a demonstrative lecture

4. conclusive; indubitable

   demonstrative arguments

5. grammar denoting or belonging to a class of determiners used to point out the individual referent or referents intended, such as this, that, these, and those Compare interrogative relative

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noun

1. grammar a demonstrative word or construction

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• demonstrativeness
  noun
• nondemonstrativeness
  noun
• nondemonstrative
  adjective
• predemonstrative
  adjective
• demonstratively
  adverb
• nondemonstratively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• demonstratives
  plural

Etymology

Origin of demonstrative

1350–1400; Middle English demonstratif (< Middle French ) < Latin dēmonstrātīvus, equivalent to dēmonstrāt ( us ) ( see demonstrate) + -īvus -ive

Explanation

People who are demonstrative easily and clearly show their emotions. A demonstrative person might shout "Hooray" and jump for joy at good news. A non-demonstrative person might feel no less excited, but refrain from demonstrating it. To demonstrate means to show, so think of demonstrative as showing. In legal terms, demonstrative is used to describe evidence that shows that something happened––a note that says "I did it" might show, or demonstrate, an accused person's guilt. In grammar, demonstrative pronouns––this, that, these, those––indicate the thing or person that is being pointed out, or shown, as in “Officer, it was ‘that’ man who stole my purse!”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

demonstrative demonstratives

Mr. Pelley chose the former, more demonstrative course.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

Though not as demonstrative as he once was, Mehta has not lost the essence of his L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2024

These videos aren’t necessarily emblematic of what I like, but their presence is demonstrative of the strangest, most rat-like part of my brain, seeking dopamine hits in the form of weird, 30-second blips.

From Slate ● Dec. 17, 2024

The audience’s demonstrative empathy for Louis, though, is as much a credit to the writing as Goldstein’s performance.

From Salon ● Dec. 14, 2024

But, at other times, vast, well-constructed, apparently robust intellectual edifices are swept away with barely a murmur because, to paraphrase Vadianus, experience really can be demonstrative.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

They tested over 1,000 speakers to see how they use demonstratives in their language to describe where objects are across a range of different spatial configurations.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2023

Statistical analysis revealed the same mapping between reachable and non-reachable objects and demonstratives across all languages.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2023

"This distinction may explain the early evolutionary origin of demonstratives as linguistic forms," he added.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2023

These demonstratives are very numerous—many of them being used as pronouns of the third person, and are declined for number, person, and case.

From The Wiradyuri and Other Languages of New South Wales by Mathews, R. H. (Robert Hamilton)

The plural demonstratives these and those are often erroneously used with singular nouns, as: "I don't like these kind of people," and "Those sort of things are very embarrassing."

From Every-Day Errors of Speech by Meredith, L. P.

Related Words

• candid
• effusive
• outspoken