expressive

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: ex=pres=sive

CIDE DICTIONARY

expressive, a. [Cf. F. expressif.].

•  Serving to express, utter, or represent; indicative; communicative; -- followed by of; as, words expressive of his gratitude.  [1913 Webster]

  "Each verse so swells expressive of her woes."  [1913 Webster]
•  Full of expression; vividly representing the meaning or feeling meant to be conveyed; significant; emphatic; as, expressive looks or words.  [1913 Webster]

  "You have restrained yourself within the list of too cold an adieu; be more expressive to them."  [1913 Webster]

  "Through her expressive eyes her soul distinctly spoke."

OXFORD DICTIONARY

expressive, adj.
1 full of expression (an expressive look).
2 (foll. by of) serving to express (words expressive of contempt).

Derivative

expressively adv. expressiveness n. expressivity n.

Etymology

ME f. F expressif -ive or med.L expressivus (as EXPRESSION)

THESAURUS

expressive

Christophanic, Satanophanic, alive, allegorical, allusive, angelophanic, appearing, associational, connotational, connotative, definable, delineative, demonstrating, demonstrative, denominative, denotational, denotative, depictive, descriptive, designative, diagnostic, disclosive, displaying, eloquent, emblematic, emotional, epiphanic, evidential, evincive, exhibitive, explicit, expositional, expositive, expository, extended, extensional, facund, faithful, figural, figurative, forceful, full of meaning, full of point, full of substance, graphic, identifying, ideographic, idiosyncratic, imaginative, implicative, incarnating, incarnational, indicating, indicative, indicatory, individual, intelligible, intensional, interpretable, lifelike, lively, loaded, manifestative, materializing, meaning, meaningful, meaty, metaphorical, moving, naming, naturalistic, pathognomonic, peculiar, pictorial, pithy, pneumatophanic, poignant, pointed, pregnant, presentational, promulgatory, provocative, readable, realistic, referential, representative, responsive, revealing, revelational, revelatory, rich, semantic, semiotic, sententious, showing, signalizing, significant, significative, signifying, spirited, striking, substantial, suggestive, symbolic, symbolistic, symbological, symptomatic, symptomatologic, telling, theophanic, thought-provoking, transferred, true to life, typical, vivid, well-drawn

ROGET THESAURUS

expressive

Sensibility

N sensibility, sensibleness, sensitiveness, moral sensibility, impressibility, affectibility, susceptibleness, susceptibility, susceptivity, mobility, vivacity, vivaciousness, tenderness, softness, sentimental, sentimentality, sentimentalism, excitability, fastidiousness, physical sensibility, sore point, sore place, where the shoe pinches, sensible, sensitive, impressible, impressionable, susceptive, susceptible, alive to, impassionable, gushing, warm hearted, tender hearted, soft hearted, tender as a chicken, soft, sentimental, romantic, enthusiastic, highflying, spirited, mettlesome, vivacious, lively, expressive, mobile, tremblingly alive, excitable, oversensitive, without skin, thin-skinned, fastidious, sensibly, to the quick, to the inmost core, mens aequa in arduis, pour salt in the wound.

Meaning

N meaning, signification, significance, sense, expression, import, purport, force, drift, tenor, spirit, bearing, coloring, scope, substance, gist, essence, marrow, spirit, matter, subject, subject matter, argument, text, sum and substance, general meaning, broad meaning, substantial meaning, colloquial meaning, literal meaning, plain meaning, simple meaning, natural meaning, unstrained meaning, true meaning, honest meaning, &c 543 prima facie meaning, letter of the law, literally, after acceptation, synonym, implication, allusion, suggestion, figure of speech, acceptation, meaning, expressive, suggestive, allusive, significant, significative, significatory, pithy, full of meaning, pregnant with meaning, declaratory, intelligible, literal, synonymous, tantamount, implied, explicit, to that effect, that is to say.

Intelligibility

N intelligibility, clearness, explicitness, lucidity, comprehensibility, perspicuity, legibility, plain speaking, precision, phonanta synetoisy, a word to the wise, intelligible, clear, clear as day, clear as noonday, lucid, perspicuous, transpicuous, luminous, transparent, easily understood, easy to understand, for the million, intelligible to the meanest capacity, popularized, plain, distinct, explicit, positive, definite, graphic, expressive, illustrative, unambiguous, unequivocal, unmistakable, unconfused, legible, recognizable, obvious, in plain terms, in plain words, in plain English, he that runs may read.

Information

N information, enlightenment, acquaintance, knowledge, publicity, data, communication, intimation, notice, notification, enunciation, annunciation, announcement, communiqu_e, representation, round robin, presentment, case, estimate, specification, report, advice, monition, news, return, account, statement, mention, acquainting, instruction, outpouring, intercommunication, communicativeness, informant, authority, teller, intelligencer, reporter, exponent, mouthpiece, informer, eavesdropper, delator, detective, sleuth, mouchard, spy, newsmonger, messenger, amicus curiae, valet de place, cicerone, pilot, guide, guidebook, handbook, vade mecum, manual, map, plan, chart, gazetteer, itinerary, hint, suggestion, innuendo, inkling, whisper, passing word, word in the ear, subaudition, cue, byplay, gesture, gentle hint, broad hint, verbum sapienti, a word to the wise, insinuation, information theory, bit, byte, word, doubleword, quad word, paragraph, segment, magnetic media, paper medium, optical media, random access memory, RAM, read-only memory, ROM, write once read mostly memory, WORM, informed, communique, reported, published, expressive, explicit plain spoken, (artless), nuncupative, nuncupatory, declaratory, expository, enunciative, communicative, communicatory, from information received, a little bird told me, I heard it through the grapevine.