explanatory

adjective

ex·​plan·​a·​to·​ry ik-ˈspla-nə-ˌtȯr-ē How to pronounce explanatory (audio)
: serving to explain
explanatory notes
explanatorily adverb

Examples of explanatory in a Sentence

There are explanatory notes at the front of the book. the explanatory section has as its heading “What the New Tax Changes Mean”
Recent Examples on the Web This is why the 2024 index and its explanatory report highlights a growing importance of business and trade attributes in perceptions of nations’ soft power, with ‘strong and stable economy’ cited as by far the strongest driver of both influence and reputation. Courtney Fingar, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Another thought is could this be one of Swift’s explanatory or narration tracks? Bryan West, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2024 The Democratic lawmakers took issue with language used in explanatory materials to the bill, H.R. 5893. Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 22 Jan. 2024 And yet Scorsese never seems as comfortable sustaining the pressure of a plot as in those vérité-style explanatory interludes when the camera maps out the territory of the film. Hazlitt, 7 Feb. 2024 The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. Haleluya Hadero, Fortune, 3 Feb. 2024 There is explanatory backstory — however piecemeal and possibly-inaccurate — but otherwise writer-director Chris Nash’s first feature approaches the usual bloody business with a sort of minimalist purity, enabled by focusing almost wholly on the POV of one Unstoppable Killing Machine. Dennis Harvey, Variety, 23 Jan. 2024 Three are trivia questions, none are particularly easy and all are clued straightforwardly enough that the whole shebang might have flown right over my head without an explanatory entry, or revealer, at 56-Across. Caitlin Lovinger, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2024 In 2020, he was named alongside his colleagues as a Pulitzer Prize finalist in explanatory reporting. Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'explanatory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of explanatory was in 1600

Dictionary Entries Near explanatory

Cite this Entry

“Explanatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/explanatory. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

explanatory

adjective
ex·​plan·​a·​to·​ry ik-ˈsplan-ə-ˌtōr-ē How to pronounce explanatory (audio)
-ˌtȯr-
: serving to explain
explanatory notes
explanatorily adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on explanatory

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!