exclamatory
Americanadjective
-
using, containing, or expressing exclamation.
an exclamatory sentence.
-
pertaining to exclamation.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- exclamatorily adverb
- nonexclamatory adjective
Etymology
Origin of exclamatory
1585–95; < Latin exclāmāt ( us ) called out ( see exclamation) + -ory 1
Explanation
Something that's exclamatory is full of very strong emotion, like enthusiasm or surprise. Your grandmother might give an exclamatory cry when you arrive at her house unannounced. You can express exclamatory praise for a movie you absolutely loved, or give an exclamatory gasp when you walk into your own surprise party. When something's exclamatory, it's like an exclamation, or a "sudden cry of emotion." Both words come from the Latin exclamare, "to call out," which consists of the prefix ex-, "out," and clamare, "cry or shout."
Vocabulary lists containing exclamatory
Week 1 Vocabulary
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Conventions, Writing, and Speaking & Listening, Unit 3
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Conventions, Writing, and Speaking & Listening, Unit 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Goofy, youthful, monosyllabic, here-for-a-good-time-but-not-a-long-time and above all things — exclamatory!
From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2023
Even that Silphium, a prairie native reaching 10 feet, is kept upright and exclamatory by a long-legged metal support that he had custom made.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 10, 2022
Strout’s latest novel, ‘Oh, William!,’ her third about the successful and heavily burdened Lucy Barton, is somehow both exclamatory and plainspoken.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 26, 2022
For Maryland, that featured Julian Reese’s most significant action, with two exclamatory dunks and six total points.
From Washington Times • Feb. 24, 2022
The Adams style was excited, jumpy, exclamatory, naughty.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
