Adjacent Words

Demonstrative definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DEMONSTRATIVE, a.
1. Showing or proving by certain evidence; having the power of demonstration; invincibly conclusive; as a demonstrative argument, or demonstrative reasoning.
2. Having the power of showing with clearness and certainty; as a demonstrative figure in painting.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: given to or marked by the open expression of emotion; "an affectionate and demonstrative family" [ant: undemonstrative]
2: serving to demonstrate [syn: demonstrative, illustrative] n
1: a pronoun that points out an intended referent [syn: demonstrative pronoun, demonstrative]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: 14th century 1. a. demonstrating as real or true b. characterized or established by demonstration 2. pointing out the one referred to and distinguishing it from others of the same class <demonstrative pronouns> 3. a. marked by display of feeling b. inclined to display feelings openly • demonstratively adverb • demonstrativeness noun II. noun Date: 15th century a demonstrative word or morpheme

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 given to or marked by an open expression of feeling, esp. of affection (a very demonstrative person). 2 (usu. foll. by of) logically conclusive; giving proof (the work is demonstrative of their skill). 3 a serving to point out or exhibit. b involving esp. scientific demonstration (demonstrative technique). 4 Gram. (of an adjective or pronoun) indicating the person or thing referred to (e.g. this, that, those). --n. Gram. a demonstrative adjective or pronoun. Derivatives: demonstratively adv. demonstrativeness n. Etymology: ME f. OF demonstratif -ive f. L demonstrativus (as DEMONSTRATION)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Demonstrative De*mon"stra*tive, a. [F. d['e]monstratif, L. demonstrativus.] 1. Having the nature of demonstration; tending to demonstrate; making evident; exhibiting clearly or conclusively. ``Demonstrative figures.'' --Dryden. An argument necessary and demonstrative. --Hooker. 2. Expressing, or apt to express, much; displaying feeling or sentiment; as, her nature was demonstrative. 3. Consisting of eulogy or of invective. ``Demonstrative eloquence.'' --Blair. Demonstrative pronoun (Gram.), a pronoun distinctly designating that to which it refers.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Demonstrative De*mon"stra*tive, n. (Gram.) A demonstrative pronoun; as, ``this'' and ``that'' are demonstratives.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(demonstratives) Someone who is demonstrative shows affection freely and openly. We came from the English tradition of not being demonstrative. ? reserved ADJ • demonstratively In grammar, the words 'this', 'that', 'these', and 'those' are sometimes called demonstratives. Some children respond more demonstratively than others. ADV; N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Conclusive, apodictic, absolute, certain, producing demonstration. 2. Energetically expressive, free in expression (of feeling), unreserved, open, prone to display of feeling.

Moby Thesaurus

Christophanic, Satanophanic, accessible, adoring, affectional, affectionate, affective, allegorizing, angelophanic, annotative, apodictic, appearing, approachable, candid, clarifying, communicative, conjugal, connotative, conversable, critical, demonstrating, demonstrational, demythologizing, denominative, denotative, designative, devoted, diagnostic, disclosive, displaying, editorial, effusive, elucidative, emblematic, emotiometabolic, emotiomotor, emotional, emotiovascular, emotive, enlightening, epiphanic, euhemeristic, evident, evidential, evincive, exegetic, exemplificative, exhibitive, expansive, explaining, explanatory, explicative, explicatory, expositional, expositive, expository, expressive, extroverted, faithful, feeling, figural, figurative, filial, fond, frank, free, free-speaking, free-spoken, free-tongued, glandular, glossarial, gossipy, gut, husbandly, identifying, ideographic, idiosyncratic, illuminating, illuminative, illustrative, implicative, incarnating, incarnational, indicating, indicative, indicatory, individual, languishing, lovelorn, lovesick, lovesome, loving, manifestative, materializing, maternal, meaningful, melting, metaphorical, naming, newsy, of soul, open, outgoing, outpouring, outspoken, overdemonstrative, parental, paternal, pathognomonic, peculiar, plain, pneumatophanic, presentational, probative, profuse, promulgatory, provable, rationalistic, rationalizing, representative, revelational, revelatory, romantic, scholiastic, self-revealing, self-revelatory, semantic, semiotic, sentimental, showing, signalizing, significant, significative, signifying, sociable, soft, soulful, suggestive, symbolic, symbolistic, symbological, symptomatic, symptomatologic, talkative, tender, theophanic, typical, unconstrained, unhampered, unrepressed, unreserved, unrestrained, unrestricted, unreticent, unsecretive, unshrinking, unsilent, unsuppressed, uxorious, visceral, warm, wifely