explication

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ˌɛksplɪˈkeɪʃən/ UK /ˌɛksplɪˈkeɪʃən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a detailed analysis or explanation of a text or idea

Her explication of the poem unpacked every buried allusion.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a detailed analysis or... explanation elucidation clarification interpretation analysis expositionexegesis

Opposites

obfuscation

Word family

Related forms explicate explicator explicit

Etymology

From Latin explicatio, from explicare ('to unfold, explain'), from ex- ('out') + plicare ('to fold').

explicatio Latin plicare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# explication

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌɛksplɪˈkeɪʃən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌɛksplɪˈkeɪʃən/

## Meanings
1. a detailed analysis or explanation of a text or idea

## Examples
- Her explication of the poem unpacked every buried allusion.

## Synonyms
- explanation
- elucidation
- clarification
- interpretation
- analysis
- exposition
- exegesis

## Antonyms
- obfuscation

## Related Forms
- explicate
- explicator
- explicit

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: explicatio
- Root: plicare

## Etymology
From Latin explicatio, from explicare ('to unfold, explain'), from ex- ('out') + plicare ('to fold').

## AI Etymology
Explication comes from Latin explicatio, from explicare ('to unfold, explain'), from ex- ('out') + plicare ('to fold'). Morphologically, the form is compositional: ex- marks part of the visible structure, while the remaining element supplies the lexical base. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "a detailed analysis or explanation of a text or idea", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes related forms such as explicate, explicator, and explicit, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Latin explicatio and Latin plicare, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood is marked by explanation, elucidation, clarification, and interpretation on one side and contrasts such as obfuscation on the other, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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