explicitly

adverb

ex·​plic·​it·​ly ik-ˈspli-sət-lē 

: in an explicit manner : clearly and without any vagueness or ambiguity

We were explicitly warned about what could happen.

The map shows explicitly where the fire alarms are located.

… did not know about the ferrying of weapons to the rebels, an activity explicitly forbidden by Congress.

—Neil A. Lewis

Examples of explicitly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The prize emerges when leaders can explicitly name the steps of their organization’s work and encode them into agents. —John Sviokla, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026

Those types of expenses are explicitly prohibited in the new policy, along with other types of charges the Statesman uncovered, such as flight upgrades. —Alex Driggars, Austin American Statesman, 23 Jan. 2026

As much as the doc is explicitly celebratory, its existence is inherently a political statement, just like Valdez’s oeuvre. —Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 23 Jan. 2026

However the New York State Constitution happily and explicitly forbids such gamesmanship and amending the state Constitution can’t be done before this year’s midterms. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

explicit + -ly entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1657, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for explicitly

• implicitly