interpretive
Americanadjective
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serving to interpret; explanatory.
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deduced by interpretation.
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made because of interpretation.
an interpretive distortion of language.
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of or relating to those arts that require an intermediary, as a performer, for realization, as in music or theater.
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offering interpretations, explanations, or guidance, as through lectures, brochures, or films.
the museum's interpretive center.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of interpretive
Explanation
Use the adjective interpretive to describe things that explain or define, like an interpretive dance that uses movements and gestures to convey the meaning of a piece of music. Interpretive comes from the Latin word interpretari, which means "explain, expound, understand." Inter- means "between" or "among," so you know there will be two or more parts to things that are interpretive. It's a subjective response that involves the thing that's being interpreted and the person doing the interpreting. A reader might have an interpretive response to a book, a guide will give an interpretative description of a painting for a tour group, and so on.
Vocabulary lists containing interpretive
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.
An interpretive method disciplines the decision-making process, but it doesn’t free judges of the need to exercise judgment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
For those who are tired of such narratives, the appeal of the show will be in its interpretive stagecraft, which is impressive and clever.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
The adaptation delves more into their marital melancholy, but I felt I understood them better in Shakespeare’s original, which recognizes the power of suggestion and interpretive restraint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
What began as one interpretive lens among many is gradually hardening into the expected way of understanding nearly every problem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
But the brazen claim that slavery must be accepted unconditionally as a permanent feature of the national confederation was, if not wholly new, at least an interpretive clarification never made before in a national forum.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
