expository

adjective

ex·​pos·​i·​to·​ry ik-ˈspä-zə-ˌtȯr-ē How to pronounce expository (audio)
Synonyms of expository
: of, relating to, or containing exposition
expository writing

Synonyms of expository

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Examples of expository in a Sentence

an expository piece on the workings of the internal-combustion engine
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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Somewhat heavily expository dialogue informs us that Yue, formerly a fashion director in Beijing, has recently returned with Moon to the family apartment in the city of Hangzhou in southeast China. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026 Sorkin’s forte is the zippy, quippy, expository argument, simplified and sensationalized for public consumption. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2026 Enter veteran character actor Lin Shaye, whose psychic Elise has been a series mainstay and a reliable provider of expository dialogue, despite the fact that her character died at the end of the 2011 original. — Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026 The acting is passable, more or less, but dialogue is often rigidly expository or cliché or both. — Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 9 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for expository

Word History

First Known Use

1628, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of expository was in 1628

Rhymes for expository

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Browse Nearby Words

expositorily
expository
ex post
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Cite this Entry

“Expository.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expository. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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