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explicit

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Very specific, clear.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ihksplisuht

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IPA pronunciation (US)

ɪkspˈlɪsət

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Very specific, clear, or detailed.

  2. euphemistic

    Containing material (e.g. language or film footage) that might be deemed offensive or graphic through clear and direct expressions.

noun

  1. The final few words of a text.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Very specific, clear, or detailed.

Used this way, explicit is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It quietly approves while staying precise.

Emotional tone
Positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Mild
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Clear and precise
Usage feel
Precise and approving

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use explicit

  • “Explicit instructions.”adjective

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

explicit knowledgeexplicit referenceexplicit statementsexually explicitexplicit formexplicit instructionsexplicit termsexplicit expression

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • explicitlyadverbDerived adverb

    In an explicit manner.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • explicit definitionnounCompound term

    A definition that gives an exact equivalent of the term defined.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: very specific or clear or or detailed

expressdenotative

Antonyms

Sense: very specific or clear or or detailed

inexplicitRare

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.