How to Use explanatory in a Sentence

explanatory

adjective
  • There are explanatory notes at the front of the book.
  • The art piece sits atop a marble base, with an explanatory plaque off to the side.
    — Linda Gandee, cleveland, 20 Sep. 2021
  • This one is pretty self explanatory, as a square shape has a straight across edge.
    — Bella Cacciatore, Glamour, 25 Mar. 2021
  • Seems self-explanatory, and yet… Don’t swim in the hot springs.
    — J.d. Simkins, Sunset Magazine, 8 Feb. 2022
  • Its explanatory scope has been tried — and tried, and tried — and is yet to be found wanting.
    — John Hirschauer, National Review, 24 June 2019
  • Self-explanatory, the jeans wouldn’t look a hair out of place on Lil Nas.
    — Tatum Dooley, Teen Vogue, 7 Sep. 2019
  • The menu is short, safe and self-explanatory, from the shrimp cocktail to the profiteroles.
    — Pete Wells, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2023
  • For the guy who’s always losing his keys, this is self-explanatory.
    — Kiana Murden, CNN Underscored, 13 Nov. 2020
  • There was no need for explanatory speeches.
    — Justin Davidson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025
  • The first is that the explanatory text exhibits its own failure to go outside the frame.
    — Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 3 May 2023
  • This year's explanatory Pulitzer is the first newsroom-wide win.
    — Anne Ryman, azcentral, 16 Apr. 2018
  • The meaning behind this fund is right there in the name and pretty self-explanatory.
    — Andy Meek, BGR, 2 June 2021
  • There are excellent explanatory texts, most of them about 3 feet above the floor.
    — Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 25 May 2022
  • Mow May is pretty self-explanatory – just hold off on cutting your lawn for the month.
    — Lauren Wethington, Detroit Free Press, 11 May 2022
  • Again, the solution to this cause of pilling is pretty self-explanatory.
    — Nicola Dall'asen, Allure, 25 Apr. 2021
  • Square Nails The square nail shape is pretty self-explanatory.
    — Allure, 13 July 2017
  • Most of the explanatory labels near each work of art are brief and written only in French.
    — Elaine Sciolino, Travel + Leisure, 22 Feb. 2025
  • The first two are self-explanatory, but the third is interesting.
    — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, 7 May 2019
  • Pretty self-explanatory, the Roll and Pop involves a smooth roll and a clean pop.
    — Liam Berry, PEOPLE.com, 4 July 2017
  • This seems self explanatory and easy enough to do, but after the loss to Pittsburgh, it must be stated again.
    — Cameron Teague Robinson, The Courier-Journal, 7 Oct. 2020
  • And over the summer, a judge struck down a version of the ballot that included an explanatory note.
    — Molly Osberg, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2021
  • The project team won the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting that year.
    — Richard Ruelas, The Arizona Republic, 28 Sep. 2021
  • Then there is the allure of the heart motif, which is self-explanatory, but Foundrae's heart goes above and beyond.
    — Leena Kim, Town & Country, 26 July 2022
  • There was no map, no program, no explanatory signage, and the staffers seemed too clueless even to say who made the pieces that were running.
    — Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle, 16 Dec. 2017
  • There are also self-explanatory Sport, Track and Drift modes.
    — cleveland, 10 Dec. 2022
  • First the explanatory power from seeing the big picture once hidden.
    — Emil Steiner, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
  • The meaning of the quote — which comes from an interview Lee once gave about heroism — is self-explanatory.
    — Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 15 Dec. 2018
  • Cleaning is simple and self explanatory, and the manual walks through the process in a clear and effective way.
    — Quincy Bulin, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 July 2023
  • That’s really what has 100% of the explanatory power of the yield curve.
    — Garfield Reynolds, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2023
  • For most of that decade, the home was shared by schoolteachers and known as the Green House for self-explanatory reasons.
    — David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Apr. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'explanatory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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