exploratory

adjective

Definition of exploratorynext
as in experimental
done or created to find something or to learn more about something exploratory drilling for oil

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of exploratory Much of what corporate America spends on AI today funds exploratory pilots, a far cry from commercial deployments that generate measurable productivity gains. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2026 State wildlife officials say some white shark encounters may involve exploratory bites as the animals investigate unfamiliar objects in the water, including kayaks. — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026 The pair made an exploratory trip to Korea around this time last year to meet people in the local industry and ask what role Gold House could play. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026 That November, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources approved an exploratory drilling plan from the company on property next to it. — CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for exploratory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exploratory
  1. experimental
  2. investigative
  3. speculative
  4. tentative
  5. preliminary
  6. theoretical
Adjective
  • Such growth goes to show that UGVs have matured from what was largely an experimental technology to a bulwark of Ukraine’s national defense.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 8 Nov. 2026
  • An experimental drug that held great promise in driving down a dangerous form of cholesterol didn’t show any measurable impact on heart attack or stroke in a clinical trial.
    — Erika Edwards, NBC news, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of experimental
Adjective
  • The facility was reportedly inspected by local police as part of an investigative operation.
    — Stefania Conrieri, Vanity Fair, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The next day, Meiser was shown on the jail’s surveillance cameras handing Triplett a bag and bedroll, the investigative report says.
    — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of investigative
Adjective
  • These smaller upstart computing providers are more speculative bets on the AI boom, with weaker balance sheets than the incumbent megacaps.
    — Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026
  • She may have been sold to an out-of-state game farm, said sources who spoke to Outdoor Life on the condition that they wouldn’t be identified based on the speculative nature of their hunches.
    — Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of speculative
Adjective
  • Kawajiri crashes the two together both with a rather sweet, tentative courtship and plenty of comedy around the anxiety which would accompany any new romance, let alone one between two shut-ins with no game.
    — Kambole Campbell, IndieWire, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The California State University system reached a tentative agreement with the CSU Employees Union, which represents about 14,500 staff including custodians, nurses and IT specialists.
    — The Sacramento Bee staff, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of tentative
Adjective
  • To prevent the seed heads from reseeding, do a preliminary light prune by trimming off the tops in fall, then cut the clumps back fully in spring.
    — The Spruce, The Spruce, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Some Arizona cities have agreed to fund preliminary work to reduce reliance on the Colorado River by expanding an existing dam on the Verde River to capture runoff from storms, Svoma said.
    — Wufei Yu, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of preliminary
Adjective
  • The new Anthropic models also reportedly solved two theoretical physics problems related to black holes, and identified a way to speed up research into gene therapies.
    — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 9 Nov. 2026
  • That dream was recently proved false, however, when a group of theoretical physicists found that no light-bending material can ever be fully transparent, owing to a quantum process that turns waves of light into waves of sound.
    — Matthew von Hippel, Scientific American, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of theoretical

Browse Nearby Words

explorations
exploratory
explore
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Cite this Entry

“Exploratory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exploratory. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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