explication
Americannoun
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explications
plural
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the act of explicating.
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an explanation; interpretation.
He gave a brilliant explication of James Joyce's book.
noun
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the act or process of explicating
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analysis or interpretation, esp of a literary passage or work or philosophical doctrine
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a comprehensive exposition or description
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of explication
1520–30; < Middle French < Latin explicātiōn- (stem of explicātiō ). See explicate, -ion
Explanation
Explication is the process of making something clearer. When you carefully explain your performance art piece to your mystified parents, you can describe what you're doing as an explication. The noun explication is closely related to "explicit," which essentially means "crystal clear." Both words come from the Latin explicitus, "unobstructed," which itself is a variant of explicare, "unfold or unravel." A good explication unravels any doubt or confusion and results in a crystal clear understanding, whether the explication involves performance art, the plot of a novel, or the complicated route to your grandmother's house.
Vocabulary lists containing explication
Challenge, List 9
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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
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Love's Labour's Lost
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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.
See Examples For:
Mr. Richardson’s explication of these sui generis novels is astute and highly welcome.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Estados Unidos Mexicanos thwart case-by-case determination of PLCAA’s applicability, a process that promotes careful explication of the law.
From Slate ● Jun. 6, 2025
More extensive explication is available via the reliable "Star Wars" online encyclopedia of your choice.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2023
Meanwhile, “Klinghoffer” continues to prove shocking in its explication of the roots of terrorism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2022
Because it did not exist in classical Latin discooperio never established itself as a respectable term; in any case, discovery was such a new concept that at first it required explication.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Love as knowledge, love as presence: These human loves are beautifully brought to life in “The Dearly Beloved,” but they don’t come together as explications of holiness.
From New York Times ● Aug. 13, 2019
Unnecessary words take up space at the expense of apt explications.
From Nature ● Jun. 11, 2019
In between his explications of Stevens’s poetry, Mariani does tell a few good stories.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 6, 2016
You didn’t need so many explications through scene-making.
From Slate ● Jan. 14, 2016
But the point will be still clearer if we hear a third author, who rehearses the various opinions, or explications of the opinion of this sect, in the following words, viz.:
From The Koran (Al-Qur'an) by George Sale
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
