Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

explanatory

American  
[ik-splan-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ɪkˈsplæn əˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /
Sometimes explanative

adjective

  1. serving to explain.

    an explanatory footnote.
explanatory British  
/ ɪkˈsplænətərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

  1. serving or intended to serve as an explanation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • explanatively adverb
  • explanatorily adverb
  • nonexplanative adjective
  • nonexplanatory adjective
  • preexplanatory adjective
  • unexplanatory adjective

Etymology

Origin of explanatory

From the Late Latin word explānātōrius, dating back to 1610–20. See explain, -tory 1

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.