explicate

verb

ex·​pli·​cate ˈek-splə-ˌkāt 

explicated; explicating

transitive verb

1

: to give a detailed explanation of

2

: to develop the implications of : analyze logically

explication

ˌek-splə-ˈkā-shən 

noun

explicator

ˈek-splə-ˌkā-tər 

noun

Synonyms

• explain
• clarify
• illustrate
• demonstrate

Choose the Right Synonym for 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.

explain the rules

expound implies a careful often elaborate explanation.

expounding a scientific theory

explicate adds the idea of a developed or detailed analysis.

explicate a poem

elucidate stresses the throwing of light upon as by offering details or motives previously unclear or only implicit.

elucidate an obscure passage

interpret adds to explain the need for imagination or sympathy or special knowledge in dealing with something.

interpreting a work of art

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 on the Web

The initial version was published in The Columbia Journal of Law & The Arts, with 248 footnotes explicating both legal and operatic precedents. —Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 8 Sep. 2010

Idles’s songs explicate the social and moral turmoil that youthful protesters can’t put into words, but the band’s energetic live performances and enthusiastic crowds make sense of what otherwise look like ideological whims. —Armond White, National Review, 7 May 2025

Aided by its curious title, The Courage To Be Disliked is a parabolic conversation between a youth and a philosopher designed to explicate the intersection of Greek philosophy and Adlerian psychology. —Tim Maurer, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025

Each of the songs explicates a place and time of an incident or an idea in the lives of the protagonists. —Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin explicātus, past participle of explicō, explicāre "to free from folds or creases, unroll, disentangle, spread out, set out in words, give an account of," from ex- ex- entry 1 + plicāre "to fold, bend" — more at ply entry 3

First Known Use

1531, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for explicate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

Kids Definition

explicate

verb

ex·​pli·​cate ˈek-splə-ˌkāt 

explicated; explicating

: to give a complete explanation of

explication

ˌek-splə-ˈkā-shən 

noun