participatory
Americanadjective
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characterized by or involving participation.
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offering the opportunity for participation by members of the public.
Explanation
If something is participatory, it allows or requires you to participate, or join in. In high school, classes are participatory: they require you to join in by doing your homework and taking part in discussions. Education research shows that participatory lessons, or lessons in which the students participate in their own learning, are more effective than direct instruction. For example, a participatory activity in which students take a classroom poll of favorite fruits and analyze what percentages of the class like which kinds is much more likely to stick with them than a non-participatory lecture on percentage.
Vocabulary lists containing participatory
Content Summary 5.2: Effects of the Atlantic Revolutions
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 17–January 23, 2026
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The Modern Period, c. 1750 to c. 1914
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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.
They flocked to the theater with friends and family in tow, comparing the festive, participatory atmosphere to the phenomenon around the 2023 megahit “Barbie,” which also spurred viewers to don costumes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
So this might range from participatory budgeting to participatory planning, that gives meaningful input to people who show up in their communities.
From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026
Chomsky also advocated so-called anarcho-syndicalism, a political and economic philosophy that envisions decentralized, participatory organizations and that still echoes with what crypto promises to bring, Allaire said.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 14, 2025
TikTok is a participatory platform, North noted, and James got the audience involved by seeing which “group” they would be in based on the video that turned up on their “for you page.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2025
Bottom-up organisational models, from slime mould to WTO protests, seem better able to address today's participatory sensibility.
From Open Source Democracy by Rushkoff, Douglas
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.
