as in experimental
done or created to find something or to learn more about something
exploratory drilling for oil
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Recent Examples of exploratory
And a diverse array of propulsion systems is essential to meet a broad spectrum of scientific, commercial and exploratory goals.
—
Lee Billings, Scientific American, 18 Mar. 2026
The brain as a whole becomes more chaotic, reflecting the injection of exploratory variance and potential solution pathways into its behavior.
—Conor Feehly, Big Think, 10 Mar. 2026
Their father, Richard, was awarded the Order of Canada for his exploratory efforts.
—Jen Murphy, Robb Report, 8 Mar. 2026
The change, still in its exploratory phase, would eventually require a vote in Denmark’s 179-seat parliament to reclassify gastronomy from craft to art.
—James Brooks, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for exploratory
Lee Billings, Scientific American, 18 Mar. 2026
The brain as a whole becomes more chaotic, reflecting the injection of exploratory variance and potential solution pathways into its behavior.
—Conor Feehly, Big Think, 10 Mar. 2026
Their father, Richard, was awarded the Order of Canada for his exploratory efforts.
—Jen Murphy, Robb Report, 8 Mar. 2026
The change, still in its exploratory phase, would eventually require a vote in Denmark’s 179-seat parliament to reclassify gastronomy from craft to art.
—James Brooks, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for exploratory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exploratory
Adjective
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An experimental United States bomber went so high into the substratosphere after eclipse pictures Sunday that its four motors left a wake of frozen exhaust in the sky.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
8 Apr. 2026
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They’re also inspired by the experimental and avant garde sounds of Frank Zappa and the tape loop experiments of Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney.—
Jessica Meszaros,
Miami Herald,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The cases were further advanced through investigative genetic genealogy, which allowed detectives to identify possible relatives of the unknown suspect.—
Angelique Brenes,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
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In the investigative piece, reporter John Carreyrou — the journalist who took down Theranos back in 2015 — homed in on a trove of emails Satoshi wrote to the Finnish programmer Martti Malmi.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Without that information, conclusions about feasibility are at best speculative.—
Charles Rilli,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Apr. 2026
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When speculative trades piled in, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia were forced to abandon their currency pegs, triggering cascading defaults and deep economic contractions that were worsened by International Monetary Fund austerity programs.—
Anniek Bao,Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The tentative agreement also increases work hours to ensure thousands of workers have health care benefits, rescinds layoffs for hundreds of IT technicians and expands health care benefits for teacher assistants and others, according to SEIU Local 99.—
Sarah Lynch Baldwin,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
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Unions representing teachers and principals reached tentative contract agreements with nation’s second-largest school district over the weekend.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Court records show she was arrested Tuesday and was ordered to be temporarily detained in jail ahead of a preliminary hearing on April 13.—
Jacob Rosen,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
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Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israel’s surprise barrage of airstrikes on Wednesday killed 303 people and wounded about 1,150 others, in a preliminary toll.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Moreover, according to the researchers, their technique works even when there is no perfect theoretical model of the material, and the sample is not pure (which is often the case in real-world materials).—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Apr. 2026
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This week, that scenario started to feel less theoretical.—
Kevin Collier,
NBC news,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Exploratory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exploratory. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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