interpretive

American  

[in-tur-pri-tiv] / ɪnˈtɜr prɪ tɪv /

adjective

1. serving to interpret; explanatory.

2. deduced by interpretation.

3. made because of interpretation.

   an interpretive distortion of language.

4. of or relating to those arts that require an intermediary, as a performer, for realization, as in music or theater.

5. offering interpretations, explanations, or guidance, as through lectures, brochures, or films.

   the museum's interpretive center.

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Other Word Forms

• interpretively adverb
• noninterpretive adjective
• noninterpretively adverb
• noninterpretiveness noun
• self-interpretive adjective
• uninterpretive adjective
• uninterpretively adverb

Etymology

Origin of interpretive

First recorded in 1670–80; interpret + -ive

Example Sentences

Theatergoers have to improvise their own interpretive strategies as the play shifts and shifts again.

From Los Angeles Times

Nothing, anywhere, is better than Harbour’s interpretive dance, side stage, at a pop concert.

From Los Angeles Times

Without her devotion and interpretive intuition, the voice inside the immobilized body would have gone unheard.

From The Wall Street Journal

And Kate Bush’s immortal 1978 single, with its swooping, operatic drama, interpretive dance–filled video and ghostly narrator only strengthened the book’s rep as a tale of exquisitely tortured love.

From Salon

We also came upon one of the new interpretive signs that were to be dedicated Friday, including one with a photo of Mike and Patricia as young adults “Making a Difference.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• analytical
• informative