illustrative

il·lus·tra·tive | \ i-ˈlə-strə-tiv

How to pronounce illustrative (audio)

also ˈi-lə-ˌstrā-

How to pronounce illustrative (audio)

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Definition of illustrative

: serving, tending, or designed to illustrate illustrative examples art that is illustrative of provincial life

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Examples of illustrative in a Sentence

an illustrative analogy in which the relationship between God and humanity is likened to that between a shepherd and his flock

Recent Examples on the Web Minneapolis has become the center of attention on racial issues because of its policing problems, but the city is also illustrative of a larger issue. — Alana Semuels, Time, "Segregation Has Gotten Worse, Not Better, and It's Fueling the Wealth Gap Between Black and White Americans," 19 June 2020 Those interactions were illustrative of Lam—endlessly hardworking, but arrogant and hardheaded. — Timothy Mclaughlin, The Atlantic, "A Stubborn Leader, a Broken System," 18 June 2020 Friday saw another night of peaceful marches, as well as a illustrative celebration of Taylor. — Ben Tobin, The Courier-Journal, "Breonna Taylor portrait projected downtown and other Friday headlines you may have missed," 6 June 2020 The results presented by this online tool are hypothetical and for illustrative purposes only, and The Post is not responsible for any decisions or actions taken as a result. — Washington Post, "Trying to plan for retirement during the pandemic? We made a bot to help you.," 22 May 2020 No photos of Loveless have been found so a composite image was made from photos of his close relatives and physical descriptions in documents for illustrative purposes. — Janelle Griffith, NBC News, "Human remains found in Idaho cave identified as outlaw who died over 100 years ago," 1 Jan. 2020 The figure was created for illustrative purposes, Brown and others explained. — Natalie Wolchover, WIRED, "Confirmed! Scientists Did See Gravitational Waves (Probably)," 16 Dec. 2018 The imperial-era Hittites left little illustrative evidence behind of such vehicles (although, following the collapse of the Hittite Empire, craftsmen in surviving Hittite enclaves did leave artworks that depict chariots). — National Geographic, "THE BEST OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX," 30 Apr. 2020 The Martinez family's situation is illustrative of the startling racial and ethnic disparities among those getting infected and dying from the coronavirus. — CBS News, "Coronavirus hits Iowa firefighter's family with deadly consequence," 26 Apr. 2020

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

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Last Updated

28 Jun 2020

Cite this Entry

“Illustrative.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illustrative. Accessed 10 Jul. 2020.

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More Definitions for illustrative

illustrative

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of illustrative

formal

: used to illustrate or explain something

: serving as an example of something

See the full definition for illustrative in the English Language Learners Dictionary

illustrative

il·lus·tra·tive | \ i-ˈlə-strə-tiv

\

Kids Definition of illustrative

: serving as an example an illustrative story

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