interpretive

American  

[in-tur-pri-tiv] / ɪnˈtɜr prɪ tɪv /

adjective

1. serving to interpret; explanatory.

2. deduced by interpretation.

3. made because of interpretation.

   an interpretive distortion of language.

4. of or relating to those arts that require an intermediary, as a performer, for realization, as in music or theater.

5. offering interpretations, explanations, or guidance, as through lectures, brochures, or films.

   the museum's interpretive center.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interpretively
  adverb
• uninterpretive
  adjective
• noninterpretively
  adverb
• noninterpretiveness
  noun
• self-interpretive
  adjective
• uninterpretively
  adverb
• noninterpretive
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of interpretive

First recorded in 1670–80; interpret + -ive

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.

Example Sentences

The broad audience reach and the nightly airing of these shows have ensured that the jokes create a broad interpretive community that translates comedic barbs into collective consciousness.

From Salon • May 19, 2026

In Washington, attorney David Sobel last month sued to find out how the interpretive sign about Senator Francis Griffith Newlands was removed from the fountain near his home.

From Barron's • May 17, 2026

As Bill Barker, who portrayed Jefferson for 26 years before Smith, put it, interpretive misfires aren’t failures so much as proof of concept—“reminders that Colonial Williamsburg,” like the nation itself, “is a work in progress.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Nothing, anywhere, is better than Harbour’s interpretive dance, side stage, at a pop concert.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

Some biographers, pursuing the same interpretive line, have suggested that his deep-rooted insecurities drove him onto the plains of Weehawken and then into the fatal gaze of Aaron Burr.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• analytical
• informative