explicate

verb

ex·​pli·​cate ˈek-splə-ˌkāt 

explicated; explicating

transitive verb

1

: to give a detailed explanation of

2

: to develop the implications of : analyze logically

explication

ˌek-splə-ˈkā-shən 

noun

explicator

ˈek-splə-ˌkā-tər 

noun

Synonyms

• clarify
• clear (up)
• construe
• demonstrate
• demystify
• elucidate
• explain
• expound
• get across
• illuminate
• illustrate
• interpret
• simplify
• spell out
• unriddle

Choose the Right Synonym for explicate

explain, expound, explicate, elucidate, interpret mean to make something clear or understandable.

explain implies a making plain or intelligible what is not immediately obvious or entirely known.

explain the rules

expound implies a careful often elaborate explanation.

expounding a scientific theory

explicate adds the idea of a developed or detailed analysis.

explicate a poem

elucidate stresses the throwing of light upon as by offering details or motives previously unclear or only implicit.

elucidate an obscure passage

interpret adds to explain the need for imagination or sympathy or special knowledge in dealing with something.

interpreting a work of art

Examples of explicate in a Sentence

an essay explicating a theory

the physicist did his best to explicate the wave theory of light for the audience of laymen

Recent Examples on the Web

Each of the songs explicates a place and time of an incident or an idea in the lives of the protagonists. —Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2024

The Michael Mann Archives also provide a wealth of video content in the form of 18 documentaries that explicate Mann and his collaborators’ process from a wide array of perspectives including acting, production design, cinematography, and props. —Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 16 July 2024

Johnson began by explicating the threat posed by the emerging axis of anti-American great powers, rogue nations, and the stateless terrorists in orbit around them all. —The Editors, National Review, 10 July 2024

As a result, its sequel, Inside Out 2, continues to explicate a little girl’s psyche as if our sense of morality and self-esteem had not been altered by politics, media, or science during the past ten years. —Armond White, National Review, 14 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin explicātus, past participle of explicō, explicāre "to free from folds or creases, unroll, disentangle, spread out, set out in words, give an account of," from ex- ex- entry 1 + plicāre "to fold, bend" — more at ply entry 3

First Known Use

1531, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

explicate

verb

ex·​pli·​cate ˈek-splə-ˌkāt 

explicated; explicating

: to give a complete explanation of

explication

ˌek-splə-ˈkā-shən 

noun