explicate

verb ex·pli·cate \ ˈek-splə-ˌkāt \

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

Definition of explicate

explicated; explicating

transitive verb

1 : to give a detailed explanation of

2 : to develop the implications of : analyze logically

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explication

play \ˌek-splə-ˈkā-shən\ noun

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explicator

play \ˈek-splə-ˌkā-tər\ noun

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Examples of explicate in a Sentence

an essay explicating a theory
the physicist did his best to explicate the wave theory of light for the audience of laymen

Recent Examples of explicate from the Web

Long passages in Comey’s thesis are also devoted to explicating the various sorts of pride that Niebuhr argued could afflict human beings — most notably, moral pride and spiritual pride, which can lead to the sin of self-righteousness.

— New York Times, "James Comey Has a Story to Tell. It’s Very Persuasive.," 12 Apr. 2018
David Rankin Barbee, a Washington, D.C., gadfly who regularly sought to explicate and defend the white South to outsiders, had offered his theory about the authorship of Behind the Scenes to up-and-coming Washington journalist Bess Furman.

— kate masur, Smithsonian, "How One Amateur Historian Brought Us the Stories of African-Americans Who Knew Abraham Lincoln," 20 Feb. 2018
What can be said about Queen Bey that hasn’t already been said, done, sang, texted, tweeted, explicated, unpacked, imagined?

— angela helm, The Root, "The Root 100 No. 1s: Beyoncé Will Forever Be Bey-ond. She’s So Fly, They Named a Fly After Her.," 11 Sep. 2017
To say more would spoil this film’s abundant surprises, and vainly attempt to explicate much that is mysterious.

— david mermelstein, WSJ, "A Haunting Haze," 28 Oct. 2017
Each of the dozen circus acts is nominally inspired by a tarot card, cursorily explicated by the show's cunningly naive hostess, Divinity Price.

— Chicago Reader, "Triassic Parq: The Musical, A Fool’s Journey, and five more new stage shows to see (or avoid)," 26 July 2017
But the term’s meaning was (and remains) opaque and has never been fully explicated.

— vanityfair.com, "Inside the Secret, Strange Origins of Steve Bannon’s Nationalist Fantasia," 17 July 2017
But the term’s meaning was (and remains) opaque and has never been fully explicated.

— joshua green, The Hive, "Inside the Secret, Strange Origins of Steve Bannon’s Nationalist Fantasia," 17 July 2017
His particular focus was in explicating the thoughts of the great Chinese sage Confucius as they were interpreted over the centuries.

— douglas martin, New York Times, "Wm. Theodore de Bary, Renowned Columbia Sinologist, Dies at 97," 17 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'explicate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of explicate

Latin explicatus, past participle of explicare, literally, to unfold, from ex- + plicare to fold — more at ply

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1531

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

explicate Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of explicate

explain, expound, explicate, elucidate, interpret mean to make something clear or understandable. explain implies a making plain or intelligible what is not immediately obvious or entirely known.