interpretative
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- interpretatively adverb
- noninterpretative adjective
- noninterpretatively adverb
- preinterpretative adjective
- uninterpretative adjective
Etymology
Origin of interpretative
1560–70; < Latin interpretāt ( us ) past participle of interpretārī to interpret + -ive
Explanation
Something interpretative is helping you understand or make meaning. When you visit a national monument, you might not understand the symbolism until you read the interpretative signs that explain and interpret the monument for visitors. To interpret means "to translate or to explain." If you view an interpretative dance, the performers are interpreting the music with their physical movements. If you have a job working as an interpreter at the UN, you might have the interpretative task of assisting diplomats by translating what is said in one language into a language that another person can understand.
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.
For example, some people still hold on to an interpretative framework known as dispensationalism, which includes the popular concept of the “Rapture.”
From Salon • Jan. 31, 2024
His death occurred just hours after speaking to a Times reporter about hiking in the heat while he took a break for some rare shade under a metal interpretative sign.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 21, 2023
As opposed to the identification of things in the natural sciences, a process limited in possible meanings, discourse possesses endless interpretative possibilities.
From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022
Possibilities include a park with interpretative panels in Maidu, street signs in Maidu or buildings decorated with cultural designs, Cunningham said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2022
To a review of our changing world—religious, scientific, social—Hugh Black brings that interpretative skill and keen insight which distinguishes all his writings and thinking.
From The Whole Armour of God by Jowett, John Henry
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.
