explanatory

Sometimes ex·plan·a·tive

[ik-splan-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]

adjective

1. serving to explain.

   an explanatory footnote.

explanatory

/ ɪkˈsplænətərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. serving or intended to serve as an explanation

Other Word Forms

• explanatorily adverb
• explanatively adverb
• nonexplanative adjective
• nonexplanatory adjective
• preexplanatory adjective
• unexplanatory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of explanatory¹

From the Late Latin word explānātōrius, dating back to 1610–20. See explain, -tory ¹

Example Sentences

The decision to jettison the report’s traditional explanatory narrative was announced to EIA staff in a March 10 internal email, after the document was largely complete following months of work.

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We need to start by examining a combination of explanatory factors.

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I was amused at what I had underlined as an overeager student, always on the lookout for the explanatory phrase.

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Nobody is as they seem, including Iris, and all “Companion” needs to do is keep you strapped in while the action occasionally breaks for the explanatory and the body count rises.

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Rather too much time is spent repeating staged close-ups of a left hand sketching in ink or applying paint, or else executing inscrutable mirror-writing on parchment — Leonardo’s secretive signature method — coupled with explanatory voice-over.

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Related Words

• analytical 
• informative 
• interpretive 
• supplementary