demonstrative
Americanadjective
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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.
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serving to demonstrate; explanatory or illustrative.
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serving to prove the truth of anything; indubitably conclusive.
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Grammar. indicating or singling out the thing referred to. This is a demonstrative pronoun.
noun
adjective
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tending to manifest or express one's feelings easily or unreservedly
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serving as proof; indicative
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involving or characterized by demonstration
a demonstrative lecture
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conclusive; indubitable
demonstrative arguments
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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
noun
Other Word Forms
- demonstratively adverb
- demonstrativeness noun
- nondemonstrative adjective
- nondemonstratively adverb
- nondemonstrativeness noun
- predemonstrative adjective
Etymology
Origin of demonstrative
1350–1400; Middle English demonstratif (< Middle French ) < Latin dēmonstrātīvus, equivalent to dēmonstrāt ( us ) ( demonstrate ) + -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 group’s atmospheric sound and heart-on-sleeve romanticism have become touchstones for a wide variety of acts, from tranquil dream-poppers to loud and demonstrative emo-punks.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026
“How he not only led by example, but he was very demonstrative in the practice in terms of his expectations of the team, how they played, their togetherness,” Pelinka said.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 25, 2025
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
But while the attack was more than purely demonstrative, it did not appear to signal Iran’s desire for an all-out fight.
From BBC • Oct. 4, 2024
We were never very demonstrative in our family; poor folk who toil and are full of cares are not so.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
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.
