exploratory

Also ex·plor·a·tive

[ik-splawr-uh-tawr-ee]

adjective

1. pertaining to or concerned with exploration.

   an exploratory operation.

2. inclined to make explorations.

Other Word Forms

• exploratively adverb
• nonexplorative adjective
• nonexploratory adjective
• unexplorative adjective
• unexploratory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of exploratory¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English word from Latin word explōrātōrius. See exploration, -ory ¹

Example Sentences

Ask exploratory questions: If I moved near you, what would that be like for you?

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In 1973, a Turkish official made an exploratory dive to check out a report that sponge divers had brought handfuls of brilliantly colored glass from the bottom of a bay called Serçe Limani.

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Partisanship was in many ways alien to Cowley’s probing and genially learned critical temperament, which Mr. Howard describes as “Emersonian, humanistic, exploratory.”

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Veldink has agreed to join an exploratory committee to examine options for the plant, including attracting a data center, though he’s unsure of the best path forward.

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Brazil's state oil giant Petrobras this month started exploratory drilling near the mouth of the Amazon River, an area considered a promising new oil frontier.

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Related Words

• preparatory 
• prior